


Boyfriends?

by Cadoan



Category: Sex Education (TV)
Genre: Adam is emotionally stunted but he’s trying his best, Bad Parenting, Blow Jobs, But not really because it’s way more complicated than that, Canon-Typical Violence, Complicated Relationships, Dysfunctional Family, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Enemies to Lovers, Eric’s dad is a cinnamon bun, Falling In Love, First Time, First Time Blow Jobs, First Time Bottoming, First Time Topping, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hand Jobs, Homophobic Language, Light Angst, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Missing Scene, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Canon, Romantic Fluff, Slurs, Tags Contain Spoilers, Teen Angst, Teen Romance, Verbal Abuse, background Otis/Ola, complicated feelings, good parenting, mentions of bullying, supportive parents, unsupportive parents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2019-10-13 02:09:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 31,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17479223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cadoan/pseuds/Cadoan
Summary: That blowjob was the best thing to ever happen to Eric. But what will happen now, when Adam goes to military school? - NOT ABANDONED, just super busy with uni/life so updating is slow!





	1. That time in the band storage room

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't stop watching Sex Education, and I absolutely loved it. These two gave me inspiration to write something multichaptered. I so called this ship to sail in the first episode, and I'm very happy it did.

Adam's lips and tongue were so hot on his skin, impossibly hot. A million thoughts were running through Eric's head. Was this really happening? This couldn't be happening. Could it? He must be having a sex dream. About Adam? Adam Groff?!

He looked down and yep, yeah, there was Adam, pressing burning hot, openmouthed kisses down his stomach. The look on Adam's face was one of determination when he sat back and started working on Eric's belt. He made quick work of it and with one swift movement he had exposed Eric's erection to the dusty store room air. Not even a second later, Adam had wrapped a large hand around Eric, squeezing as he leaned back down to press more kisses to Eric's skin, this time next to his hip. Eric's head fell back onto the floor, the feeling of Adam's hand so different from the way his own felt. Adam started stroking him then, long slow strokes, while starting to move his kisses inwards, towards  Eric's erection in his hand.

That made Eric catch up with reality somehow, and his eyes flew open.

"Adam, are you sure? I mean, you-"

Adam didn't stop his stroking, not even for a second, as he muttered a response into Eric's skin. 

"Just be quiet, Tromboner. I want to do this. So let me."

There was something vulnerable in Adam's voice, something raw, and a feeling of something like tenderness swirled in Eric's chest. 

"O-okay, Adam..."

Adam gave a humming noise in response before he continued to press kisses towards Eric's erection. 

A hot, sticky wave washed over Eric as Adam stopped stroking and took him into his mouth instead. It esd so hot and wet and oh my god, he was getting a blowjob and oh my god, _Adam_ was giving him a blowjob. Adam's tongue feltlike silk, and it felt so much better than Eric could have ever imagined. Then, Adam's hands were on his hips pinning him to the floor and Eric's eyes rolled into the back of his skull as Adam swallowed all of him down, his nose pressed into his skin. Eric's hands scrambled for purchase, nails dragging across the floor, finding nothing to hold onto.

"Um, Adam, I think I'm going to, um, cum? Soon?" His voice was wavering, his limbs starting to feel heavy. Adam hummed again, the vibrations going straight to Eric's cock, and he let out a surprised yelp as his hands reflexively flew up to Adam's head, into his hair. It was becoming too much now, he couldn't hold it in any longer. He strained against Adam's hold on his hips but couldn't go anywhere, Adam's hold firm, and Adam's mouth felt so good, and shit, _Adam-!_

Eric screwed his eyes shut and gave a long moan as he started coming, the world disappearing around him, apart from Adam's mouth and hands, grounding him somewhat. Then, Adam's mouth disappeared from him, and he wasn't sure how long he'd had his eyes closed when he opened them and propped himself up on his elbows. Adam was still there, looking at him with dark eyes as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Eric blinked at him, wide-eyed.

_Did that just happen?_


	2. How are you here?

"ERIC!"

Eric could barely hear his sister's shouting over the blasting of the soundtrack of _Hair_ on his stereo, but he just about managed to.

He ignored it however, currently busy winging the eyeliner of his left eye. He looked at it for a second when he was done before pulling a 'not-too-bad' face in the mirror. Now to get the other one as similar to the first one as possible... He put his elbow on his desk to steady himself and gently applied the liquid eyeliner, trying to paint it just the same way he had done the first.

"ERIC!" Suddenly, his door burst open and one of his younger sisters barged into his room. He yelled, startled, and the eyeliner went wonkily downwards.

"What?!" he looked at himself in the mirror, eyes wide. "Look at what you did!"

His sister rolled his eyes at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "There's someone at the door foor you."

Eric furrowed his eyebrows. He wasn't expecting company. Otis always texted ahead of time, and he was probably being cozy with Ola a friday night like this, so...

"Who?"

His sister shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Some tall guy." She started backing out of his room. "He's waiting at outside the front door." With that, she disappeared. 

Eric looked back at himself in the mirror and made a frustrated sound. He pulled a wet wipe from its dispenser and angrily wiped away the ruined eyeliner. Then, he walked out of his room and towards the front door, cursing his sister as he went. His dad  and a few of his sisters were watching TV in the front room, the sound of the tv filtering into the hallway as Eric walked by. Eric was already talking as he opened his front door.

"Who are you to show up unannounced to my hou-" He grew silent as he took in who stood in front of him.

Adam. 

Adam wearing jeans and a grey hoodie, hood up.

Adam took his hand out of the pocket of his hoodie and lifted it in a greeting, a cigarette dangling between his lips.

"Heya."

Eric rubbed at the back of his neck, suddenly self conscious.

"Adam! You are... here..!"

Adam made a little scoffing sound, some kind of semblance of a laugh, and looked down onto the ground.

"Yeah, I guess I am." He looked back up at Eric with somewhat of an amused look. "Am I interrupting something?" He motioned with his head towards Eric's one eyelined eye. Eric gave him a confused look for a second before he realised that he, in fact, only was wearing make up on one eye. He gave a dismissive wave.

"This? No, no, it's fine. Don't worry about it."

Eric didn't know what to do with his hands, so he stuck them into his jeans pockets. His chest felt tight when he looked at Adam.

"I heard through the grapevine that your dad sent you to military school." 

In one fluid motion, Adam took the cigarette out of his mouth and stuck it between two fingers, then pulled the hood of his hoodie down, stroking his over the top of his head almost absentmindendly. Eric noted that Adam's hair was buzzed short and close to his skull.

"Yeah... that happened."

Eric leaned on the doorframe.

"You cut your hair."

Adam stopped stroking his head and shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. "They force you to do it in military school. Makes me look like a right twat."

"No, no, it looks good on you. I like it."

If Eric didn't know better, he could have sworn that Adam blushed a bit at that, but that couldn't be right. Adam Groff, blushing?

Eric opened his mouth to ask what Adam was doing in front of his house, _how_ he was in front of his house whilst also being shipped off to military school, but he was interrupted by his dad's shouting.

"Who is that by the door?!"

Adam looked into the hallway before looking back at Eric. Eric turned his head back into the hallway.

"No one, dad! Just a friend!" He took a step outside of the front door and closed it behind him.

Adam cleared his throat as if he was going to say something. He looked pretty much everywhere apart from Eric for a while, before he finally spoke up.

"I, uh... I know we haven't spoken since... ehm..." Adam trailed off, suddenly finding his shoes very interesting.

"Since you kissed me and gave me an amazing blow job? Yeah."

Adam's eyes shot up to meet Eric's, hazel meeting brown, and there was no denying the small smile that played on Adam's lips for a few seconds. The tall young man straightened and drew in a deep breath before letting the air back out of his lungs.

"Something like that."

They both grew silent for a while, just looking at each other. The air between them was tense, and Eric couldn't exactly point out for what reason. Eventually, Eric spoke up.

"So... how are you here if you're supposed to be at military school?"

"They give us a weekend a month to go home to see our parents and shit, and this is the first time I get to go home. I kind of... missed the first one."

Eric lifted one eyebrow in doubt. "Missed?"

Adam rolled his eyes. "Fine. They took the first one away because I refused to follow their shitty rules."

"Now that sounds like the Adam I know."

Adam scoffed at that again. He looked away from Eric once more, as if the eye contact was too much for what he was going to say next. He licked the roof of his mouth and he lifted his gaze skywards.

"So... just so you know, they don't let us have our phones in military school during the weeks, and with being punished during the weekends I didn't get to use it then either... so I couldn't text you. Or call you."

Eric's stomach did a little flip at that. 

"You would've done that?" he asked, almost timidly.

Suddenly, Adam had taken a few steps forwards and was in Eric's space. Eric instinctively took a step backwards, but his back only hit the front door instead. Just as suddenly, Adam's hands were on Eric's neck and he had leaned in to close the distance between them. When their lips met it almost felt like a jolt of electricity shot through Eric, and he kissed Adam back, deepening the kiss. He put his hands on Adam's lower arms to steady himself somewhat, inviting Adam's tongue into his mouth by opening his lips. It didn't take long for their tongues to touch, and when they did, Eric couldn't help the sound that escaped him. Adam's kiss was almost desperate, the way he pressed up against Eric, and Eric kissed back with equal fervor. It was messy and their noses bumped together way too much,  but it felt perfect. When they had to break apart for air, Adam leaned down to put his forehead against the slightly shorter young man. They breathed eachother's air for a while, coming down from the rush of hormones and adrenaline.

"That was nice," Eric breathed, voice a bit shaky. Adam hummed in what sounded like agreement before he took a step back from Eric, who reluctantly let go. He couldn't take his eyes of Adam's lips. He wanted to feel them again, and again, and again, on his mouth, all over him, on his-

"I'm going to be in town this weekend, so maybe you want to hang out sometime?" Adam's question interrupted Eric's train of thought, a train of thought that was quickly taking him towards a boner.

Eric let out a breathy, kind of nervous-sounding laugh at that. "I would very much like that."

Adam smiled as a response, a small little wonky smile that kind of took Eric's breath away. Adam stuck his hand back into the pockets of his hoodie and fished out his phone. "Put your number in, and I'll text you," He held out the phone to Eric, who accepted it. With just slightly shaking hands, he put in the number. When he was done, he handed it back. 

"Cheers." Adam put the phone back to where he got it from. "I got to get going, but see you soon, yeah?"

Eric nodded, still a bit stunned from the sudden kiss. "Sure! Yeah, I mean no, definitely."

"Great." Adam started walking backwards away from Eric and lifted his hand in the same greeting he had done before. Eric mimicked it with his own hand. Then, Adam turned around and disappeared down the street. Eric lowered his hand and touched his lips, which were still tingling from the kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's see where this goes!


	3. Tomorrow is great

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have very little idea of how the British school system works, and especially this kind of military school, so I'm just kind of making it up as I go along.  
> Also, I'm sorry if I mix British English and American English in a weird way. English isn't my first language and I speak to people in English that's from all over the world, so it might come off as a bit strange. Doing my best though! Also also, I realised that you never learn Mr. Groff's name in the series, so I decided to call him Arthur.

 As soon as Adam got inside of his parent's house, his dad came into the hallway, a stern look on his face.

"Where have you been?"

Adam made a non-comittal sound and shrugged his shoulders, his face blank.

"Nowhere. I just took a walk."

His dad didn't move a muscle. "You barely get here and leave your bag before you're out of the house again. 'Taking a walk' couldn't have been that important."

Adam just looked at him with his blank stare, shrugging his shoulders again. "I'm back now though, aren't I? It's not even close to curfew."

His dad didn't have anything to say to that, so Adam pushed past him and up the stairs to his room. When he had reached the landing, his dad spoke again. "Your mother is cooking. Be ready for dinner in 30 minutes."

Adam continued into his room, which looked pretty much the same as it did when he left for military school, apart from the fact that is mum had clearly been in there to tidy up. He sat down on his bed and rubbed his hands over his face, giving a frustrated sigh as he did so. Then, he looked down at his hands for a few moments. New callouses had formed in his palms from the physical training they went through every day. He felt restless, his shoulders tense, as if he had too much energy and nowhere to go. It really didn't make sense since military school drew them into the fucking ground, so he should be completely knackered, but he kind of felt like he was buzzing. He lifted a hand and ghosted his index and long finger across his lips, shuddering slightly as the thought about the kiss Eric and him had shared before. Adam took out his phone and went into his contacts, quickly finding Eric. His heartbeat sped up just slightly as he looked at the numbers on the screen next to Eric's name.

_Fucking hell_ , he was in over his head. 

Frustrated, he threw the phone on the bed next to him and groaned. He stared up into the ceiling, mulling over what to do. Everything was so fucking fucked. He drew in a deep sigh. 

He never really had been able to control himself around Eric. There had always been this itching in the back of his mind, this aching in his body, whenever he looked at him. Eric was everything he wasn't, smiley and out there and just so... _brave._

Adam scoffed at himself and rolled over onto his side, looking at the phone where it lay next to him. He wasn't sure why he'd finally gone for it, there in the band storage room. It was as if the looming threat of military school just couldn't make him be arsed anymore. What the fuck did anything matter if they would ship him away like some unwanted goods anyways? He just hadn't been prepared for the way Eric had kissed him back. He hadn't been prepared for how fucking _good_ it would feel to have Eric under him. He certainly hadn't planned on sucking his cock, it just kind of... happened. And now he couldn't get that out of his head, the memory following him around and giving him unwanted boners at the most inappropriate of times.

_Just get it over with, Adam. Just send him a fucking text._

He picked up the phone and found Eric's contact again. He hesitated for a moment, chewing on the inside of his cheeck. Then, he typed.

_Hey Tromboner, it's me. I'm free tomorrow evening. Wanna hang out?_ He read the message over a few times before deeming it okay. With a push of his thumb the message was off, and now there was no return. A feeling of nervousness came over him, and he couldn't shake it. He stared at the phone screen, as if he was willing a response into reality, and after a minute or so, the three dots showing that Eric was typing showed up on his screen.

_Tomorrow is great._

Another message right after.

_Also, do you have to call me that?_

A grin spread across Adam's face and he lied back against his pillow, holding the phone above him. He quickly typed out a response.

_I have no idea what you're on about, Tromboner_

He could basically see Eric rolling his eyes on the other end of the text conversation. 

_You're impossible_

Adam stuck the tip of his tongue out between his lips as he answered.

_You know you like it ;P_

He saw how Eric stopped typing, then started again, then stopped again. Adam put his thumb to his mouth and lightly chewed his his nail as he waited for Eric's answer. Finally, Eric answered.

_For some reason, I do_

Adam smiled to himself again. 

_Can we hang out at your place? My dad isn't really keen on me having people over_

Eric's answer was instant.

_Of course_

_Most of my family's gone tomorrow night. Be here at 8?_

Adam lowered his hands to his chest for a bit, resting his phone there before answering. He thought about that time at the school dance, the way Eric's dad had hugged him. A sting of pain shot through Adam's chest and he shook his head, shaking the memory. Picking up the phone again, he typed out one more message before putting the phone away.

_c u tomorrow_

He went to sit in the chair at his desk, right leg jittering up and down as he just waited for his mum to call him down to eat. He didn't have anything else to do anyways. Swirling around in his chair, he looked up into the ceiling, his eyes following a small crack that ran from the middle of the room, towards the wall. He raked his nails over his short hair and sighed. It felt so different being back here now, with nothing to do. Before he'd been sent away to military school, he always knew where there was a party to go to, but now, he felt... disconnected. More so than usual.

"Adam! Dinner's ready!" His mum's voice drifted up from the bottom floor. 

Adam swirled one more time in his chair before pocketing his phone and heading downstairs to the dining room, where both his parents were waiting for him. He plopped himself in the chair at the end of the table, his mum on his left and his dad on his right. They started eating in silence, and Adam pretended to not see the pointed looks his mum was giving his dad, urging him to say something to his son that had his first weekend off from military school. Adam sighed again and poked at the boiled potatoes. Finally, his mum spoke up.

"It's really nice to have you back home, Adam."

He met his mother's eyes for a second, his expression blank. He shrugged and looked back down at his plate. The room fell silent again, the only sound the clinking of cutlery against porcelain. After a few tense minutes of silence, Adam's dad cleared his throat.

"At least you managed to stay out of trouble long enough to actually get your leave this time around. How you manage to misbehave so much at an instituion like that is beyond me."

"Arthur!" his mum gasped at his dad, and Adam sunk lower into his chair, wanting to make his big frame as small as possible.

"What? It's true. I don't understand where this behaviour comes from. We never had these issues with his sister." His dad didn't even look at Adam as he spoke, focused on cutting the meat on his plate instead.

"Maybe if you got off my back for once..." Adam mumbled under his breath.

"What did you say?" His dad's voice was icy steel, and Adam met his gaze, defiant.

"I said, that maybe if you got off my back for once and stopped comparing me to my sister, I wouldn't be this much of a fuck-up!"

Adam's mum gasped at his sudden outburst and raised voice. His dad was going slightly red in the face. "You do not talk to me like that."

Adam straightened in his chair, anger driving him on. "I'm not my fucking sister, okay?! Do you have any fucking clue how much it sucks to be the headmaster's son?!" He slammed his fork down on the table, making his mum jump. "And you, you never leave me the fuck alone!" He pointed accusingly at his dad, who looked like he had bit into a lemon. 

"Go to your room, Adam." His dad pointed up towards the upper floor.

Adam stuck his chin out, defiant. "Or else what? You already sent me to fucking military school." With that he stood up abruptly. He turned to his mum briefly. "I'm sorry mum." Then, he stormed out of the dining room. He grabbed his jacket in the hallway on his way out, pulling the front door open and violently slamming it shut behind him. He rummaged through his pockets to find his pack of cigarettes and his lighter. His hands shook slightly out of anger as he put the cigarette between his lips and lit it. He took a deep drag on it and closed his eyes as he breathed out smoke through his nose. He could hear his parents arguing inside.

"Fuck!" he shouted into the slightly chilly night air.

 


	4. That time in Eric's room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just can't stop writing these two, and this turned into a monster of a chapter.

At first, Eric had tried to sleep in as long as he could the next day, but he woke up early instead, too restless to go back to sleep. He laid in bed for a long time, scrolling through instagram. Throughs Maeve's instragram he found Aimee's, and through Aimee's he found Adam's. 

"Weedlord69? _Really..?" h_ e said out loud to himself, rolling his eyes. Adam's instagram didn't have too many pictures, mostly blurry photos from parties, and some mirror selfies. The last picture was taken the night of the school dance, a selfie of Adam's face sticking out his tongue in a way that made you see an uncomfortable amount of the inside of his mouth and throat. His eyes were looking straight into the camera and he was wearing that horrible, horrible brown suit. The text next to the image said 'Time to fuck up this shitty dance!'

After that, nothing. The picture was dated to just a little over 2 months ago. Right before that first time Adam kissed him. Right before Adam was sent away to military school. It all felt so long ago, for some reason. Eric's stomach clenched as he looked at Adam's face in the picture. His fingered hovered over the follow button before he pressed it.

Eventually, Eric got out of bed. It was still only 10 am, and he had no idea what to do with himself. He spent some time playing on his Nintendo Switch, some Mario Kart, but he couldn't concentrate on the game for very long. He played some Super Smash Bros Ultimate online against Otis for a while, but he lost horribly every time. He even got a text from Otis saying _Whatsup? I'm demolishing you! Having a bad day?_

He answered with a _Yeah not really feeling it today_ and Otis sent him a sad smiley back.

He tried to watch TV for a bit, but couldn't concentrate _at all_ on what his sisters were watching. 

At one point, his mother took his face in her hands and gave him a worried look, asking if he was okay. He smiled and shrugged her off, saying that yeah, he was fine and everything was alright. She gave him a look that showed that she understood that he wasn't being truthful, but he didn't push him any further. She turned back to the cake she was currently decorating, letting Eric off the hook. A friend of hers and Eric's dad was throwing a party, and everyone apart from Eric and the oldest of his younger sisters was going. 

He also changed his outfit like, ten times throughout the day. His sisters poked fun at him, but he ignored them. He wasn't sure what to wear. Should he dress up? Should he dress _down_? Should he dress smart? Smart casual? He almost sent a text to Anwar to ask him for help, but he decided against it last minute. How would he explain this situation? _Oh hey so I might or might not be having a date with my bully of four years, who kissed me several times and also sucked my cock, oh also did I mention that it's Adam Groff?_ No. Ridiculous.

Finally, he settled on a pair of light green chinos and a black and white t-shirt with a floral print. He painted his nails gold and put on some gold eyeliner. Later in the day, he kissed his parents and almost all of his sisters goodbye and went back up to his room to wait. 

When the time rolled around to 8.30 pm, he was drumming his fingers against his desk, anxious. He looked at his phone again. 8.31. A feeling of dread had settled in his stomach. Had he been stood up? Was Adam just playing a sick joke?

He didn't get further in his train of thought before the door bell rang. Eric shot up from his chair like a rocket.

"I'VE GOT IT!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, dashing out of his room. He saw his sister moving towards the front door, a pair of headphones on her head. He sprinted past her, startling her.

"I said I've got it!" Her stare could kill, but she turned around and went back into her room. Eric turned to look at himself in the hallway mirror, eyeing himself up and down quickly, smoothing  out the front of his shirt. He took a deep breath and met his own gaze in the mirror.

"You can do this," he said to himself before turning and opening the front door.

Outside stood Adam, dressed in a very similar outfit he to what he had been wearing the day before, but with a slightly different coloured hoodie. Once again, his hoodie was up and he had his hands in his pockets.

"You're late," was the first thing Eric thought of to say. Adam gave a crooked smile and pulled up his shoulders in an apologetic gesture. 

"S'kind of my thing, y'know."

"I suppose so." Eric took a step backwards, allowing Adam to step inside. "We can hang out in my room." He motioned with his head. Adam walked inside and closed the door behind him. Then, he followed Eric up the stairs.

Eric's heart was pounding wildly as he stepped inside his room, Adam following right behind. He sat down on the chair by his desk, watching Adam. He looked so big in the small space. He shrugged out of his jacket and looked for someplace to put it. "You can hang it there," Eric offered and motioned towards some hangers on the wall. Adam took a step to the left and hung up his jacket. Then, he reached behind his neck to take ahold of his hoodie, pulling it over his head to reveal the striped tank top he was wearing underneath. Eric couldn't help but stare at the suddenly exposed flesh. Adam's muscles played under his skin as he moved his arms to pull down his tank top, which had ridden up to expose a bit of his abdomen. A trail of dark hairs went from his navel downwards, widening as it disappeared into the hem of his underwear, which was just showing above the hem of his jeans. Eric had to surpress the urge to fan his face with his hand, his cheeks heating up. Then, Adam cleared his throat, and Eric's eyes shot up to meed Adam's. Adam was looking at him with a smug look in his eyes, one eyebrow lifted, and Eric quickly looked down at his nails. He wanted to disappear through the floor. Adam had caught him _staring, oh my god._

He heard Adam move around in the room, placing himself on the edge of Eric's bed, leaning back on his hands.

"So this is your room, ey, Tromboner?"

Eric rolled his eyes, both at the nick name and at the obvious question.

"No, I live in another house down the street. Yes, of course it's my room." 

Adam looked around the room, eyes stopping at the painting of Black Jesus for a moment, but he didn't comment on it.  "It's nice. Cozy."

Eric shrugged his shoulders. "It's good enough I guess."

"Sure beats the room back at prison, that's for sure."

Eric looked at him, confused. Adam noticed it. "Military school," he offered as explanation, and Eric nodded in understanding. Eric didn't really know what to do, or how to act. Should he bring up the kisses, plural? The _blowjob_? Should he ask if this was a date?

"I like the colour." 

"Huh?" Eric was confused again, not sure what Adam meant. 

Adam motioned with his head towards Eric's hands. "Your nail varnish. The gold. I like it."

"Oh," he said softly, his gaze flickering between Adam's face and his own nails. He wasn't sure if Adam was being sarcastic or not, but if he was, there was nothing in his tone of voice or facial expression that gave him away. "Thanks. I like it too."

Adam shifted a bit on the bed, as if unsure how to phrase his next sentence. "You... you could paint my nails, if you'd like."

Now, Adam must be joking with him. Adam Groff, wearing nail varnish?! But again, if he was joking, there was nothing in his face that gave him away. He looked dead serious, as he so often did. 

"Are you for real?" Eric asked, incredulous.

Adam shrugged his shoulders and looked away from Eric, looking up into the ceiling instead, and Eric could feel the other young man retreating back into himself. _Shit,_ he'd made a mistake.

"Wait!" Adam looked back at him, and Eric smiled widely. "I'd love to. Okay?"

Adam looked at him passively for a moment before giving a silent nod. Eric turned to grab one of the many bottles of nail varnish on his desk, the same gold he had used to paint his own nails earlier. Then, he got up and shooed at Adam to move over so he also would fit on the bed. Adam pulled in his long legs and sat crosslegged opposite Eric, who got into the bed and tucked his legs in under himself. Eric unscrewed the bottle of nail varnish.

"Here, hold this." He handed the open bottle to Adam, who took it. He immediately moved the bottle to his nose and sniffed, making a face.

"That smells like shit!" He scrunched his nose at the bottle.

"Well, yeah, but beauty is pain. Here, give me your other hand." Eric took ahold of Adam's other hand and tried to ignore the almost light headed feeling he got from holding Adam's hand in his. He started applying the varnish in slow, meticulous strokes, beginning with Adam's thumb. 

"You're really supposed to start with a base layer of white, to make the colour pop more," he explained as he moved on to the other nails. Adam gave a little grunt of acknowledgement, watching Eric as he worked. Eventually he was done with Adam's first hand and moved over to the other one. They sat mostly in silence, both of them very much out of their comfort zone when it came to what was currently happening. Then, when Eric was done with Adam's nails, he sat back slightly to admire his work.   
  
"Now, just sit still like that for a while. Don't mess up the varnish." He took back the bottle from Adam and screwed the cork back on. He held it in his hands, feeling how warm it was from beind held by Adam for a long while. He didn't go to put it back on the desk, because... well, he really enjoyed being this close to Adam. In his bed. His cheeks heated up just slightly. 

Adam held out his hands in front of him, inspecting his nails. "So, how long do I have to sit and just do nothing?" 

Eric shrugged his shoulders. "5, maybe 10 minutes?" Adam made a small, almost whining sound at that, a sound he'd never heard Adam make before.

"That's ages just sitting around doing nothing! You need to entertain me then."

"Ummm..." Eric looked around, thinking about what he could do to entertain Adam. His gaze landed on his Switch. "You can watch me play some video games?"

Adam pulled a face that showed that he was thinking about it, before he eventually nodded. "Alright. As long as I get to join when this has dried." 

"Yeah, of course!" Eric reached over and turned on his Switch, starting up Smash Bros. He moved to sit at the edge of his bed so he could see the TV better and Adam moved to sit next to him, careful to not put his nails against anything. Eric played a few matches against the AI, but had a hard time concentrating because of how Adam's thigh was pressed up against his. He still managed to beat the AI every time though, but just barely.

"Can I join yet?" Adam said, sounding not entirely unlike a child asking their parents 'are we there yet?'. Eric paused the game and turned slightly towards Adam. "Feel your nails. Are they sticky?" Adam did as told and lightly tapped his nails with his fingers, making a 'nu-uh' sound and shaking his head. 

"Then, yes." Eric handed a controller to Adam, who accepted it and leaned towards the TV.

Eric was way better than Adam, and had to make an effort not to completely crush him. However, as the matches went on, Adam was catching up to him, and Eric had to do his best to not be defeated. Then eventually, it happened. Adam beat Eric, fair and square with Eric trying his best, and Adam threw his arms in the air in a victory pose.

"Yes! Take that!"

Adam turned to look at Eric, face shining with pride. He opened his mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by Eric's sudden movement when he closed the distance between them and pressed their lips together. Adam groaned as he let go of the controller and opened his lips, letting Eric's tongue into his mouth. Eric had already abandoned the controller, fisting the front of Adam's shirt to pull him as close as he could. Adam's hands were at the sides of his face then, deepening the kiss by coiling his own tongue against Eric's. When they had to break apart for air, chests heaving, Adam angled Eric's head backwards, ducking in under to press kisses down the side of his neck. Shivers ran through Eric's body as Adam attached his mouth to the sensitive spot on his neck right beneath his jaw, and he held onto the fabric of Adam's top as if it was a life raft. Then, Adam's lips found Eric's again, and Eric's head was spinning, not sure which way was up and down anymore. When Adam used his hold on Eric to manuever them down to lie on their sides in the bed, facing each other, Eric felt a bit less light headed, the soft bed beneath him grounding him a bit in reality. They were still kissing, Adam licking into his mouth over and over, and Eric couldn't get of it, couldn't get enough of Adam's lips against his, of Adam's tongue in his mouth.

All this making out was _definitely_ giving him an erection, and it strained uncomfortably against his underwear and chinos. He instinctively let go of Adam's shirt and moved his hand down between them to readjust himself through his trousers, but he never made it that far. Instead, he brushed against Adam's _very_ prominent erection. Startled, Eric immediately pulled his hand away, but Adam had made a sound when Eric's hand had brushed against him that made Eric curious. Slowly, he moved his hand back and just placed it against Adam's erection, where it strained against his jeans. Adam hade that sound again, and Eric knew he wanted to hear Adam make it again, and again, and again. He started to stroke Adam's dick from outside his jeans, and Adam sucked Eric's tongue into his mouth, grinding forward onto Eric's hand. The surreality of the situation dawned on him again, having _Adam Groff_ in his _bed_. Suddenly boldened, he moved both his hands to unbutton Adam's jeans. Adam made an encouraging sound as Eric put his hand on the exposed skin just above Adam's underwear, and Eric's heart was in his throat as he pushed his hand inside the piece of fabric.  
  
Adam broke of the kiss and let his head fall back on the bed with a groan as Eric wrapped his hand around Adam's cock. It was big and warm and hard in his grip, and he touched it tentatively, exploringly. Adam drew in deep breaths above him and Eric used his other hand to push down the hem of Adam's underwear, freeing his cock completely from its confines. Eric would hear Adamn's breath hitch when he wrapped his hand around the head of his cock, and he liked how that made him feel. He was just about to started stroking Adam in earnest when Adam took ahold of his arm.

"Wait, hang on, let me do it to you too."

A shiver of anticipation ran through Eric because of how wrecked Adam's voice sounded. That, and the mere thought of Adam large hands on him again. Adam's hands were at his waist then, unbuttoning his chinos and pulling down the zipper. Then, tilting his head down to look Eric in the eye, he shoved his hand inside of Eric's underwear and pulled him out. They kissed once more before they both started moving their hands. They kissed feverishly again, lips meshing and noses bumping, and the small room was filled with heavy breathing and small little moans. Soon, Eric's hand movements were becoming erratic, finding it hard to keep the rhythm of his stroking up as Adam worked him over. He was getting close, real close. Adam seemed to be close as well, because he tore his mouth away and breathed harshly through his mouth.

"Fuck, Eric..." Adam's voice was raw and deep as he moaned the other young man's name.

Eric's eyes widened in shock, a hot wave rolling over him. He couldn't remember a single time Adam had used is actual name before. Slightly overwhelmed, he pushed his face into the side of Adam's neck, picking up his stroking in earnest. Adam moaned again, deep and low, more of a rumbling in his chest than an actual sound, and that did it for Eric, his stomach twisting and muscles aching. With a strangled sound he came over Adam's fingers and his sheets, and a few moments later Adam came as well, pulsating in Eric's hand as he did.

They lied still like that for a while, both of them calming their breathing and coming down from the high of their mutual orgasm. Eric was almost drifting off into sleep as Adam shifted next to him, making a disgusted noise.

"I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of lying in my own spunk."

Eric opened his eyes, having been pulled back from the brink of sleep. "Erm, no, me neither. Wait, I have some tissue..." He reluctantly pulled away from Adam, reaching behind him for the box of tissues he had standing on his bedside table. He grabbed he whole box and offered it to Adam, who took a few tissues. First he wiped off his own hand, and then he took ahold of Eric's hand, wiping it off as well. Eric reflected over the fact that it felt so strangely intimate, and he realised that it sounded really odd since they had literally just been wanking each other off. When Adam deemed that he'd wiped enough off, he tossed the pieces of tissue over his shoulder, so they landed somewhere behind him on the floor. Eric pulled a disgusted face at that. "Eew, gross. I'll have to pick that up later."

Adam rolled his eyes in response. "Ease up, Tromboner." There it was again, the nickname, but there was no malice in neither Adam's voice nor in his eyes, almost as if it was a term of endearment. Eric didn't dare to think about it too much. He reached back to place the box of tissues back in its original place. 

"You wannu play some more Smash?" Adam asked him as he tucked himself back into his underwear. Eric nodded. 

"Yeah, I'd love that."

They spent the rest of the evening playing video games, sitting ever so slightly closer together than they had before, physically touching as much as possible whilst still playing the game. Finally thought, when the clock started to draw close to midnight, Adam put down his controller.

"I've got to go, or my dad is going to flip on me."

Eric put down his controller as well, not wanting Adam to leave at all. "Okay." He fiddled with the buttons on his controller for a bit, nervous to say what he was planning to say. "When can I see you again?" He looked up at Adam and found that Adam also was fiddling with the buttons on his controller.

"I go back to military school tomorrow afternoon, and I won't have another leave for at least 3 weeks..." he trailed off, biting his lower lip. "I don't know how long my dad plans to keep me in there." Adam sighed and looked up at Eric briefly, meeting his gaze for a short moment before looking away again. "I get my phone back on friday though. I'll text you."

"That's good, yeah, I can work with that."

Adam stood up stiffly, walking over to grab his hoodie and jacket. He put both of them on and Eric followed him to the front door. There was this ache in Eric's bones, and he didn't know how to get rid of it. When they were standing in the hallway, looking at each other, the tension between them was palpable. Adam took a step towards Eric and Eric's eyes slid close, waiting for Adam to pull him in-

Suddenly, the front door opened, and Adam, startled, jumped backwards away from Eric, whipping around to look at who had interrupted them. Eric could see his mum's and dad's somewhat shocked and worried faces, having no clue why a stranger was standing in their hallway.

"H-hello?" his dad said, and Adam suddenly pushed past them, escaping the situation and disappearing out the front door. Eric could do nothing but watch him leave. When Adam was gone, Eric's parents turned to him.

"Who was that?"

Eric drew in a deep breath through his nose.

"That... was Adam."

"Is he a friend of yours?"

Eric smiled a little to himself, tasting the word. _Friend._

"Yeah mum, you could say that he's a friend."

An hour later, Eric was in bed, scrolling through his instagram feed, just like he normally did. There were a few pictures of plates of food, a cat here and there, a picture of Aimee kissing her triangular boyfriend. Some of people partying. Then suddenly, Eric's breath got caught in his throat. Weedlord69 had put up a photo just a few minutes ago. The photo was of Adam, looking seriously into the phone camera, eyebrows furrowed. A lit cigarette hung from his lips and he was flipping off the camera. You could clearly see the gold on his nail, shining in the flash of the camera. There was no text accompanying the photo, just a yellow emoji hand flipping people off. Eric clicked in on the photo to look at the comments. Less than a minute ago, Aimee had commented: 'is that nail varnish????'.

 Eric smiled widely to himself, a pleasant warm feeling settling in his stomach. He clicked the heart icon to like the picture, locked his phone and went to sleep.


	5. Dress code

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter turned out a bit darker than I had first anticipated. This chapter will include some homophobic slurs and some violence, but nothing that's way worse than what's canon-typical. I also want to warn about the fact that Adam's dad in general is like, a super, suuper shitty dad in this chapter, if you're sensitive to that stuff.

Adam's dad had thrown a right shitfit sunday morning when Adam came down  breakfast and he saw Adam's painted nails. His face had gone redder than Adam had ever seen before and demanded for Adam to take it off. Adam, of course, refused. The next few hours turned into a shouting match that was worse than anything else Adam had had with his dad before. 

 

"NO SON OF MINE WILL BE WEARING NAIL VARNISH!"

His dad was right up in his face, face red as a tomato.

"What're you gonna do, dad? Force me to take it off?" Adam crossed his arms over his chest, not backing down an inch, despite the height difference between the two. "How do you plan on doing that, huh? Are you going to hold me down and do it yourself? We both know you never could. I'm stronger than you, and you know it."

His dad sputtered at that, not getting any proper words out. Adam straightened a bit, staring his dad right in the eye. "I fucking thought so." He turned around and started walking out of the living room.

"Adam! You come back here this instant! We are _not_ finished here!"

 "I don't have time for this shit, I have to pack my things," Adam shouted back over his shoulder. As he passed his parents' room, he could hear his mum crying. He ignored it and stomped into his room.

The cab taking him back to the military school arrived an hour later. His dad was still completely red in the face. Adam ignored him completely, walking by him with his packed gym bag slung over his shoulder. He hugged his mum goodbye before he got into the cab. Then, the long trip back to the military school began. Adam leaned his head back onto the headrest in the backseat, watching the countryside outside fly by. He took his phone out of his pocket and sent a message to Eric. 

_talk 2 u friday_

Then, he put the phone back into his pocket.

He didn't do much the rest of the trip, mostly just looking out of the window and trying not to think too much. Finally, the cab pulled up in front of the old brick building that was the main building of the military school. Adam got out, slung his bag over his shoulder again and went inside. It still took a little while to find his way to his room, the one he shared with one other student. Once he'd made it inside his room and thrown his bag onto his bed, the time was almost 7.30 pm, thirty minutes before when the weekend was considered over and everyone needed to be back from leave. That also meant that it was the time that Adam had to give his phone to administration. He checked his phone for messages, and he had one. _Eric_. He opened the message and read it.

_Thanks for this weekend. It was nice. Talk to you friday._

Adam smiled to himself. He looked at his golden nails, knitting his eyebrows together slightly. He wasn't sure why he'd put up such a fight about it. He'd never had painted nails before and it wasn't something he planned on turning into a habit, but it had just felt... right to stand up for himself. To channel some of that bravery Eric showed every day. Adam shook his head lightly before he headed back out of his room and started walking down the corridor towards administration to turn in his phone.

The blaring, insitution-wide alarm went off at 5 am, just as every other weekday, rousing all the students from their sleep. Adam got out of bed before he was even really awake, the only way he had figured out how to actually even get up at this hour. Fucking hell, before he was forced to this place he was often not even asleep at this time. Groggily, he put on the plain gray greenish uniform, put on his boots and headed towards the large dining hall. Barely awake-looking students stood in neat lines waiting to get served breakfast, and Adam got in line as well. The line crawled forwards with a snail's pace, and Adam yawned, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. He noticed two lads a few people in front of him in the line whispering to each other, turning around to look at him as they did. He gave them his best 'what-the-fuck-are-you-looking-at'-look and then ignored them. Eventually, it was his time to get his tray with a bowl of plain porridge, one glass of orange juice, one glass of water and a slice of dark bread. He took the tray and found an empty spot, putting himself as far away from other students as he possibly could. He downed the cold orange juice in a few large gulps, the ice cold liquid waking him up a little bit at least. He was busy shuffling porridge into his mouth when three students walked up to his table. He didn't pay them any notice.

"Hey, you a fag or summit?"

Adam didn't react at all, staring at his food as he kept on devouring it. Two hands slammed down violently on the table, causing his tray to shake.

"Hey, fag!"

"Sorry, are you talking to me?" He looked up at the person calling him slurs in the middle of the sentence, chewing his porridge slowly. The one that had spoken was a tall, wide kid with small, too-close-set-together eyes. 

"Yeah, I'm talking to you," the kid almost spat. His face twisted into a disgusted snarl. "What kind of queer are you, having _painted nails_." 

Adam stood up slowly, calmly, holding the kid’s gaze. The two behind him faltered just a little, but the kid in the middle didn't back off an inch. They were about the same height, but the kid had a good few pounds on him. Adam looked down at his nails for a moment, thinking about Eric. "What the fuck did you just say?" He looked back up at his assailant, icy steel gathering in his stomach, in his veins, like it always did before a fight. He cocked his head to the left.

A disgusting smile spread across the kid's face, and Adam wanted nothing more than to wipe it off.

"I said, what kind of _queer_ are you?"

Before the kid could react, Adam had pulled his arm back and thrown a punch that landed directly on the kid's nose. He could feel the satisfying crunch of the kid's nose breaking against his fist. The kid stumbled backwards, howling, putting his hands in front of his nose. Adam rubbed the palm of his other hand over his knuckles, willing away the slight pain that bloomed up there. It had been a good while since he'd punched someone like that. He looked at the kid, now sitting on the floor, with disgust.

" _This_ queer will fuck your shit up," he said calmly. 

At this point, something of a crowd of students had gathered around them, wondering what the commotion was about. The kid moved his hands from his nose, staring at the blood that had gathered there in something that looked like pure disbelief. His two friends were staring at him, shocked. The kid pointed at Adam, snarling. "Get him!" The two friends looked at their friend on the ground, then back at Adam. Adam straightened and stared them both down, and at least one of them faltered and took a step back. The other one however, threw himself over the table at Adam, tackling him to the ground. They were in the middle of a wrestling/boxing match when they were suddenly pulled apart by school personell.

 Half an hour later, Adam was sitting in the office of the man who ran the military school. It reminded Adam of sitting in his dad's office back at Moordale Highschool. The man in charge was wearing a dark green military uniform, several medals attached to his breast. He looked through some papers on his desk before looking at Adam.

"Now, Mr. Groff, I will be frank with you. Your father has paid a substantial amount for you to be here. A bit of a row like what happened in the dining hall, whilst of course unacceptable and will be punished severly, is not enough to come even close to overshadow the amount that has been paid for your lodging and education."

Adam crossed his arms over his chest, giving the military man a blank passive stare, the stare he knew drove teachers and people in charge insane.

" _However_ , Mr. Groff, we have a _strict_  dress code at this institution. Now, I have no semblance of an idea how, or why, you were allowed to come back here with that on your nails, but it _will_ come off."

Adam scoffed. "And what if I refuse? You gonna kick me out?"

"If you refuse, you will no longer have a place at this institution, you will be removed from the premises and your father's payment will not be refunded."

The military man looked down amongst his papers again. Adam stared at him with wide eyes. "And I'm sure, Mr. Groff, that you wouldn't want that to happen."

Adam's face split into a wide grin as he the realization of the actual power he had in this situation sunk in. Christmas had come early this year.

"You can call my dad and tell him to fuck right off, and that his fuck-up son has been kicked out of military school, because I'm not taking this off." He waved his hands, showing off his nail varnish.

Military man looked at him calmly for a few moments before he spoke. "Mr. Groff, you really shouldn't be doing that. Our institution is the last resort for delinquents of your sort."

Adam shrugged his shoulders in his best 'I-couldn't-care-less'-gesture, his face settling into a look of distant disgust. “Either you expel me over this, or I make _your_ life a living hell. I’ll fight you every step of the way, until you’re forced to expel me to save the reputation of your precious institution.”

Adam could see the hatred flare up in the man’s eyes, that look that he’d seen in so many teacher’s eyes growing up, that look his dad had in his eyes when Adam was giving his blank stare. 

“You’re dismissed, Mr. Groff. Go to your accommodations and pack your belongings. You will be out of here before the day is over.”

Adam stood and walked out of the office, smiling widely.

Fuck his dad.

Adam had won.


	6. I can’t say

Eric whistled to himself as he biked the road towards Otis’ house. The cold morning air hurt his lungs a bit, but he didn’t care at all. The air came out as little white puffs of smoke when he breathed. Soon, he saw Otis’ house in the distance and picked up speed.

A few minutes later he stood in front Otis’ front door, his helmet tucked under his arm. He rang the doorbell and waited. After a little while, Otis’ mum opened the door, wearing her yellow robe and holding a large cup of steaming hot tea. She leaned against the door frame, giving him a warm smile.

“Good morning, Eric. I hope you’re having a great day so far.”

Eric flashed her a brilliant smile and nodded. “Thanks Jean, I’m having a fantastic morning!”

Jean stretched her neck to shout back into the house. “Otis? Eric’s here!”

Eric could hear Otis shouting a response from somewhere within the house. Jean turned back back to face Eric, smiling at him. “He slept through his alarm,” she explained. “Also, I’m happy to hear that, Eric.” She moved the large cup towards her mouth and sipped carefully on the hot liquid. “Did something happen?”

An image of Adam flashed through Eric’s mind at her question. He shook his head though, still smiling widely. “Nothing in particular. Guess I just woke up on the right side of the bed this morning.”

Suddenly, a stressed out-looking Otis appeared behind Jean, a wild look in his eyes. He pushed past his mum, a piece of slightly burned toast in his mouth. He acknowledged Eric with a slight nod of his head and rushed past him. Eric waved goodbye to Jean, who lifted her cup of tea at him, and then he turned around to follow Otis. 

“You shouldn’t stay up so late on the phone speaking to your girlfriend!” Jean shouted to them, and Otis whirled around, staring wide-eyed at his mum.

“God mum, just stop! Okay, I get it!”

He whirled back around and continued power walking to his bike.

“I love you, darling!” Jean shouted as Eric and Otis reached their bikes. Otis kneeled down to unlock his his bike as he shouted “I love you too!” back. Then, Eric and Otis got onto their bikes and started making their way to school.

“So, did you actually oversleep because you were speaking to Ola on the phone?” Eric asked Otis as they approachen the bike standa outside the school. Otis nodded his head and took off his bike helmet, kneeling down to lock his bike. Eric gasped, eyes shining bright.

“Oh my god, were you having phone sex?!”

Otis stood up, wide-eyed and flustered. He stared at Eric and sputtered.

“What?! No! Absolutely not! We did nothing of the sort!” 

Eric grinned at his best friend.

“Oh my god, you totally were! Tell me all about it!”

Otis gave him a sceptical look, his head snapping backwards, as if he was asking Eric ‘are you sure?’

“Or wait. Never mind. Don’t tell me details. That would be... weird. But tell me everything apart from the details!”

Otis shrugged his shoulders in a non-commital way as they started walking towards the school. 

“Well... we kind of... had a wank... whilst being on the phone.”

Eric looked at Otis as if he just had told him something _very_ scandalous. “ _Otis_!” he exclaimed loudly, causing the group of students in front of them to turn around to look at them. He mouthed ‘sorry’ to the them. They just rolled their eyes and continued walking. “I’m so proud of you!” Eric stage whispered to Otis, who was just looking very embarrassed about the whole situation. “Speaking of sordid tales,” Eric continued, his voice dropping low. “I wanked someone off this weekend. And he wanked me off as well.”

Now, it was Otis’ turn to look at Eric with a shocked face, as if Eric just had told him something very, _very_ scandalous. “ _Eric_!” he exclaimed very loudly, and the group in front of them turned around and stared at them again. This time, both Eric and Otis mouthed ‘sorry’ to the group. The group flipped them off as a response.

“What, Eric! This is massive! With who?! How did this happen?!”

Eric has never told Otis about the blowjob. He’d almost convinced it never happened when Adam suddenly showed up at his front door. Eric lost himself in his thoughts for a moment, thinking about Adam’s lips on his, his large hands, his wrecked voice. He wanted to tell Otis so bad, wanted to tell him all about this strange, but still nice, situation he had ended up in, but... he couldn’t.

“I’m sorry Otis, but... I can’t say.” Otis looked at him, confused, before Eric continued. “I really want to, but... he’s not out, and I promised not to say anything. It’s not my story to tell.”

Otis seemed to mull this information over for a little while before he gave a firm nod. “That’s fair. Letting him own his narrative.”

Eric looked at his best friend with admiration.

“Otis, you’re so cool, you know that, right?”

That made Otis snort. “You can use many different words to describe me, but I’m fairly sure ‘cool’ isn’t one of them.” 

They had arrived at their lockers, both of them pulling out their text books for first class. 

“Can you tell me if it’s someone I know? Does he go to this school?”

Eric didn’t know how to answer that question, opening his mouth say something, to stall as he was figuring out what to say, but he was saved by the bell ringing in to class. They hurried to their first class, which was English. 

The school day crawled by, and Eric found himself looking at the clock on the wall way too many times. He wasn't even sure why he did it, because it wasn't like it really mattered what time of the day it was. Adam still wouldn't be able to get in touch with him until friday, which was several days away. It really didn't matter if it was 11.30, or 2.11, och 3.45. Also, he looked at his phone way, way too many times, as if he would be able to just will a message from Adam into existance. Finally though, Eric and Otis was out of in their last class of the day. They were at their lockers again.

“Hey, you want to hang out after school?" Eric asked as he was putting books in his bag, leaning backwards to look at Otis, who was doing the same thing. Otis gave him an apologetic look as he zipped up his bag and closed his locker.

“I can't, I promised to hang out with Ola today. She's coming over to my place, and I need to make sure mum doesn't ask her too many inappropriate things. Sorry, man. Some other time.” 

Eric was just about to answer when he saw Aimee approaching them from behind Otis, with her triangular boyfriend in tow. She stopped next to them.

“Party my place Friday! You two should come, it'll be fun!"

Eric looked at her, squinting. "Are your parents alright with that, what with how the last party turned out?"

Aimee's smile faltered slightly, but still she nodded. "They're pretty much over it!" She turned to her boyfriend for support. He looked a bit confused since he hadn't been around when that last party happened, but he stilled smiled widely at Aimee, nodding in earnest. ”Yeah, it’ll be fine.”

She turned back to look at Eric and Otis. 

"8.30, Friday!" She chimed before walking off, boyfriend in tow.

Otis and Eric watched them walk away.

“You want to go to Aimee’s party Friday?” Otis asked Eric. Eric shrugged his shoulders and made a neutral sound, thinking about how he would much rather chatting with Adam on the phone the whole Friday.

“I might,” he eventually said. Otis locked his locker and started backing away from Eric, putting his hands together in front of him.

“Forgive me?” he asked as he kept walking backwards down the corridor.

“I always do,” Eric said and rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t help his smile. Otis responded with a smile of his own before he turned around and started jogging down the corridor. Eric groaned and leaned his forehead against his locker.

It was going to be a long week

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I absolutely adore Eric and Otis’ friendship in the series, so I wanted to write some interactions between them.


	7. Disconnected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for Adam’s dad being a really shitty dad in this chapter, again. Emotional abuse and verbal abuse, but nothing that’s a lot worse than what’s canon typical.
> 
> Also, I changed Aimee’s party to be on the Friday instead, because it fit better with what’s coming up.

Adam walked straight back to his room and packed the few belongings he had brought with him to military school. It was mostly clothes, a few notebooks, pencils and his phone charger. He shoved it all into his gym bag and made it to administration to fetch his phone. They gave him his phone and instructed him to wait until someone would come and collect him. Having no place else to go, he put his gym bag on the floor of the corridor outside of administration and sat down on top of it, leaning back against the wall. He took out his phone and tried turning it out. Nothing. Of course the fuckers hadn’t charged his phone overnight. He looked around the corridor, but not a single electrical socket was to be found. 

“Fucking great," he muttered to himself. He was dying for a smoke, but of course they had taken his cigarettes away from him.

2,5 hours had passed, something Adam knew only because of the big, fancy clock on the wall, when the lady in administration knocked on the glass window of the office, drawing Adam's attention. He stood and stretched his arms before walking over to the window. He was told to head back to military man's office and wait outside. Adam walked back to get his gym bag, picked it up and walked the way back to military man’s office. He couldn't wait to be out of this fucking place, it's stuffy corridors and dictatorship air. When he got into the waiting room it was empty, so he threw himself into one of the chairs. Spotting an electrical socket, he quickly dug the charger out of his bag and strode over to the other side of the room, squatting down to plug in his phone. 

"Come on, come on, come on...”

He chewed on the inside of his cheek as he waited for the phone to boot up. Just as the phone came to life, the door from military man's office swung open. Adam threw a look over his shoulder and his blood instantly went cold. Walking out of the office was his mum, with a somber look on her face. Adrenaline immediately coursed through Adam's body and he shot up to his feet. As soon as she recognized her son, she hurried over and gave Adam a hug.

"Oh, Adam..." she said, her tone remorseful as held him. He wasn't looking at his mum however, having his eyes fixed on the doorway to military man's office. He could hear muffled speaking, could hear the rumble of his dad's voice, and he had to fight the urge to run away, to get out of this situation. The speaking stopped and then, his dad walked out of the room. Adam was completely frozen in place, transfixed on his dad who took a few steps out of the office, stopping as he was levelled with Adam and his mum. He looked at Adam's mum, ignoring Adam completely.

"Come Margaret, it's time to leave," he said, his voice ice cold, before he started walking again, out of the waiting room. Adam's mum let go of him and took half a step back, looking at her son. She didn't say anything before she pressed her hand against her mouth and let out a little pained sound. Then, she turned around and followed her husband. Adam really didn't want to follow, but it was his only way out of his place. He had no choice. He forced himself into action, reaching down to unplug his u from the wall. Then, he followed his mum and dad.

The drive home was torture, but not in a way Eric was used to. In a sense, he was used to his dad shouting and saying how disappointed he was in Adam, but this was a different kind of beast all together. His dad was driving the car in complete silence. He didn't acknowledge what so ever that either Adam or his wife was in the car with him, apart from halfway through the trip, when Adam's mum had quietly started crying. The one thing he had said was "Oh, do stop being so dramatic.", which had caused Adam's mum to sniffle louder. 

Adam tried to send a message to Eric, wanting to tell him- he wasn't even sure himself actually, but he needed to tell him something, anything, about what was going on. He had just managed to get into his text conversations when the phone died down again, battery empty. A large stone settled in the bottom of Adam's stomach. Dread was starting to settle in. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine that he were somewhere else, anywhere else than trapped in a car with his parents. 

As the car headed into town, rain started pouring down. 

Adam's dad pulled up the car into the driveway of the house and parked it. Then, he spoke, staring straight ahead.

“Margaret, would please tell our utter failure of a son that he is strictly forbidden to leave the house under any circumstance until I have figured out what to do with him? Also, do take his phone as well." With that, he pulled the keys out of the ignition and left the car. Adam sunk further down into the back seat, looking at his turned off phone. He just sat there and listened to his mother's sniffling dying down, until the car eventually was quiet. He looked out of the car window at his parents' house, at the window that was his bedroom window. Out of the corner of his eye he could see his mum shifting in the seat in front of him.

“Adam, we..."

He just gave her his phone, not wanting to look at her, not wanting to hear what she had to say. 

“Just take it," he said before taking ahold of the straps of the gym bag, pulling it with him as he got out of the car.

Madam was barking excitedly as Adam opened the front door and went inside. He squatted down to pet the small dog, who jumped up and licked his face. He pet Madam for a while before standing back up. He went up to his room and closed the door behind him. He dumped the gym bag on the floor and lied down in foetal position in his bed, burying his face in his hands.

Two days passed as if in a fog. Adam didn't know how, but his dad was home all the time, despite it being in the middle of the work week. His dad was also still treating Adam as if he was thin air, not even looking his direction. He only spoke to Adam's mum, speaking about Adam in third person as if he was’t there, saying how much of a failure Adam was. Adam thought he’d be dull to it at this point, but his dad's words still cut him deep. Adam went between his room and the dining room, leaving only when his mum came and got him to tell him dinner was ready. His parents weren't even arguing, the house eerily quiet apart from Madam's intermittent barking. Sometime, he could hear his dad’s voice in the distance as he spoke with someone over the phone, but he couldn’t make out any words. Adam didn't know how to handle it. He only knew he had to get out. The clock was ticking. He needed to get his phone.

As thursday evening rolled around, he had an idea. He needed to get to Eric. He didn't really dare think about the consquences.

He couldn't sit still all friday. It was as if he had an itch set deep in his bones, and a crushing weight on his shoulders. He waited around all day, acutely aware of how much of the day was passing. He thought of Eric and his bright smile, of Eric who had no idea what had happened and of Eric who... might think that Adam had abandoned him. Strung him along. Adam's stomach tied into a knot at the thought of it. He sat in the doorway to his room, listening to his dad moving around, waiting for his chance. It was almost 9pm, when his mum was out walking Madam, that he heard his dad walk into the bathroom downstairs and lock the door behind him. Adam instantly sprung to action, creeping down the stairs as quickly but also as silently as he could. He hurried into his dad's office and hid behind the big oaken desk. Then, he fished out a paperclip from his pocket. His dad always kept his phone in the same spot when he took it from him - second uppermost left desk drawer. Adam's hands trembled as he moved his hands and the paperclip towards the small keyhole. His blood was rushing in his ears as he picked the lock. It didn't take too long before he managed to get it open. He ripped the drawer open, and sure enough, there was his phone. He snatched it and pushed the drawer close again. He sat still for a moment, listening. He heard the tap running in the bathroom. His dad was still in there. He bolted out of the office and up the stairs, taking three steps in one stride. He just made it into his room as he heard the bathroom door open. He stood frozen in place, eyes screwed shut, squeezing the phone in his hand. He could hear his dad enter his office and close the door behind him. Adam stood still for a few minutes, waiting for something to happen, but nothing did. Adam sprung into action again, connecting his phone to the charger. It took a minute or two to boot up. He was nervously tapping the back of the phone with his nails as he waited.

_Think_ _Adam_ , _think_!

He clicked the instagram app and his feed popped up. The first photo was Aimee's, just a black square with white text saying 'Party at mine tonight!' He went to Eric's page. The last photo was a photo of New Kid and some girl Adam had never seen before, smilling and making peace signs at the camera. The photo was clearly taken in a bus. It was posted one hour ago, and the text accompying it was 'Heading to Aimee's!'.

That's all Adam needed to know. He pulled the charger out of the wall and shoved it into his gym bag, which he already had packed. With quick, hectic movements he tied his shoes, put on his hoodie and jacket and grabbed ahold of his gym bag. Then, he bolted down the stairs and out the front door as fast as he could. Using all the energy he could, he sprinted down the driveway and took off down the street in the direction of Amiee's house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a lot of feels about Adam, like a lot. I’m focusing a lot more on his situation than I thought I would when I started writing this, but I’m really enoying it despite being hard af to write.


	8. T.G.I.F

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took me much longer to write than the previous ones! I got so many ideas for scenes taking place in upcoming chapters and I just had to get them out. So, a bit of a longer wait, but at least you know there’s more coming!
> 
> Thank you all for reading, leaving kudos and commenting! All of it is making me so happy and giving me the motivation to write!

When Eric’s alarm went off at 7.20, he instantly sat up in his bed, a bit disoriented. He had this feeling that he’d been dreaming something, but he couldn’t remember for the life of him what he’d been dreaming about. He yawned big as he reached for his phone where it laid charging on his bedside table, leaning against the headboard of the bed. He locked groggily at the lock screen, eyes a bit muddy with sleep still. 

7.22, Friday

Realisation set in and Eric sat up straight, eyes wide. It was Friday. He smiled widely to himself as he unlocked the phone. Adam would text him today.

As Eric biked to school, the excitement had a fair share of nervousness in it as well. When would Adam get in touch? What would they talk about? There was a question nagging in the back of his mind, one he wasn’t sure how to respond himself, and even less so what Adam would answer if he was asked. What were they to each other? He tried to not think too much about it.

Eric went to his classes and it felt like his phone was burning a hole in his pocket.  He almost had to physically restrain himself to not check his phone every minute, but he found himself failing more often than not. When it was time for lunch, doubt had creeped in. Still nothing from Adam, not even the smallest of texts, and Eric barely touched the sandwiches he’d brought with him. Otis noticed.

“Eric, what’s wrong?”

Otis shockingly pale eyes had a look of concern in them as he watched Eric not eat his lunch. Eric managed a smile as he met his friend’s gaze.

“Nothing’s wrong, just feeling a bit out of it, I guess.”

Otis didn’t seem to buy the excuse, his forehead scrunching together.

“What’s bothering you?”

Eric looked down at the table they sat at, giving a small little shrug of his shoulders. When Eric didn’t say anything, Otis put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently.

“Is it that bloke?”

Eric nodded lightly, not trusting his his voice at the moment.

“I’m here if you want to talk to me about it, okay?”

Eric looked at Otis and sent him a thankful look.

“I know,” he said and gave his best friend a little smile. 

As the last two classes went by and there still was no message or call from Adam, it felt like a heavy stone and settled in Eric’s stomach, and it was a bit hard to breathe at times. Why hadn’t he been in touch yet? Maybe it had been a cruel joke, some kind of terrible evolution in the shit Adam had put him through nearly daily for the past few years. Eric thought about Adam’s lips on his, on his skin, of Adam’s hands on his body, and a little wave of nausea hit him. Had all of that been a joke to Adam? Eric didn’t know what to do, where to go.

Finally, the school day was over, and Eric and Otis met up at their lockers.

“Hey Eric, you wanna go to Aimee’s party tonight?”

All Eric really wanted to do was to go home and lie in his bed, forgetting about everything. A party was the last thing he wanted to attend now. 

“It might cheer you up? Make you think about something else.” Otis stuck his thumbs under the shoulder straps of his backpack. Eric shrugged his shoulders.

“I don‘t know, I’m not really feeling up to it.”

Otis’ phone buzzed and he fished it out of his pocket, eyeing it quickly before he put it back again. Eric’s heart ached a bit, his phone still completely void of text message notifications.

“If you change your mind, just call me, okay? Ola and I are going, and I think Maeve is as well.” Otis waited for a response, clearly not leaving before Eric had said anything. 

“I promise, I’ll call you if I change my mind.”

Otis smiled at Eric before he turned around and walked down the corridor. Eric watched as Otis took out his phone again, unlocked it, and then started typing out an answer to the text message he received just before. Eric slammed his locker shut and headed out to his bike, his phone feeling way too heavy in his pocket.

A few hours later, the time was nearing 8 pm and Eric was lying in his bed, staring into his ceiling. Bonnie Tyler was blasting out of his stereo, and he hummed along to the melodies. He unlocked his phone and checked instragram again. Aimee had posted a picture of a bowl of what Eric assumed to be dangerously alcoholic punch, filled with pieces of different kinds of fruit. He couldn’t help himself when he clicked into Adam’s profile. No new updates. Eric looked at the photo of Adam flipping off the camera, looked at the gold nail varnish, and his stomach churned.

“Fuck it,” he said to himself and closed down instagram, clicked into Otis’ contact in his phone and started typing out a message.

_I’m coming to the party. Where do we meet?_

Otis’ answer was almost instant.

_Awesome! See you at the bus stop at 9!_

Eric looked at the time. A little less than an hour before he needed to leave for the bus. Not really enough time to get ready, but it would have to do.

Just over an hour later he rushed down the stairs from his room. He had finally settled on wearing his yellow converse, red trousers and a yellow and white-striped top. He had matched his outfit with some red eyeshadow.

“I’m going out to a friend’s party!” he shouted back into the house as he put his jacket on, looking at the time on his phone. He should’ve already been on his way.

“Do you need a lift?” his dad wondered.

“No thanks! I’m taking the bus with Otis. See you later!”

He hurried out the front door and started jogging down the road towards the bus stop. 

Otis and Ola were waiting for him at the bus stop, arriving just before the bus appeared in the distance. Otis smiled widely and Eric as he arrived, and Ola waved a little at him. They got on the bus and settled in for the about half an hour ride to Aimee’s place. Eric got out his phone at one point, and Otis and Ola poses for the photo. He put it up on instagram and wrote a comment about heading to Aimee’s party. Then, he locked the phone and stuck it back into his pocket.

Aimee’s place was starting to fill up with people as they arrived. People were dancing, talking and laughing, and Otis, Ola and Eric found Maeve sitting alone in an armchair in a corner of the living room. They had all got themselves of the punch, and just like Eric had suspected, it had an almost deadly amount of alcohol in it. They joined Maeve, sitting down in a sofa right next to her armchair, and Eric sipped his drink _very_ slowly, not planning to die from alcohol poisoning anytime soon. Soon, the living room was packed with people from their school.

“Don't you think it's a bit odd, the way Mr. Groff suddenly went on vacation in the middle of a week? I've never seen him go on holiday in the middle of the school year before."

Eric shrugged his shoulders at Maeve, dragging is finger along the rim of his glass.

“Who is Mr. Groff?" Ola asked from where she sat inbetween Otis and Eric, looking at Maeve. Maeve opened her mouth to answer, but Otis was quicker.

“It's the headmaster of our school."

Ola turned to Otis and gave him a slightly odd look.

“Why are you discussing the headmaster of your school?"

Eric couldn't really muster the energy to be a part of the conversation, his mind elsewhere. Adam had said that he would get in contact with him friday. Eric couldn’t help the intense feelings of self doubt clawing at him.

“Maybe it has something to do with Adam? With him being sent off to military school, or whatever it was,” Otis said.

“I heard he was sent abroad,” Maeve said before she raised her cider to her mouth and drank down a few gulps.

“Doesn’t Aimee know?” Otis asked Maeve, who shrugged her shoulders.

“Aimee doesn’t talk to him. He’s just a pain, being such a dick head to everyone.”

“I'm getting something else to drink," Eric said and stood up abruptly. The other three startled a bit from the sudden movement. 

“You okay, Eric?" Otis asked, concern in his voice. 

“Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." His voice betrayed that he, most definetely was not fine. Otis, Ola and Maeve watched him as he started making his way through the large living room. There were quite a few people dancing, so he didn't make it very far, when commotion was heard from the kitchen, the sound of startled voices yelling and what sounded like some pots and pans hitting the floor. It drew everyone's attention, people stopping their dancing and talking to stare at the kitchen door instead. Eric, and everyone else in the room, watched as Aimee stomped through the living room, people giving way to her on her way to the kitchen. She disappeared into the doorway and almost instantly, you could hear her shout loudly.

“ _You_! What are _you_ doing here?!"

Some more yelling, an offended little shout from Aimee and the sound of someone running towards the doorway to the living room, where everyone stood waiting with bated breath. Suddenly, someone bursted out of the doorway, coming to a stop a few steps into the living room. Eric gasped, eyes widening.

_Adam_.


	9. Party hard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Strap in for this roller coaster of a chapter! This is by far the longest chapter so far, and I had originally planned for the last chapter to be a part of this one, but I realised I had to divide it a bit at least.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter! I enjoyed writing it, even though it was tough to write at times.

IAdam was looking around the room with a wild look in his eyes, scanning the faces of the people around him. Eric couldn't move a muscle, couldn't raise his hand or his voice, completely frozen in place, overwhelmed with what was going on currently. Then, finally, Adam's gaze landed on Eric, and when their eyes met, Eric's breath was taken away. The world seemed to grind to a halt as Adam started taking long strides towards Eric, people moving out of his way. Aimee came stomping out from the kitchen behind Adam, fuming. 

 

“You are not supposed to be here, what are you-"

Adam all but full on _crashed_ into Eric, holding him close for a second before he claimed Eric's lips in a heated kiss, right then and there, in front of the whole party. What sounded almost like a sob escaped Eric’s lips as he kissed Adam back, desperately clutching at him as he tried to drink him all in, as if he thought Adam might evaporate from next to him at any moment. Adam’s kiss was needy, and the world around them had melted away completely. Eventually Adam tore his mouth away and breathed harshly against Eric’s lips, holding his hands on either side of Eric’s face.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he breathed and pressed another kiss to Eric’s lips. Eric’s hands was holding onto the outside of Adam’s well worn leather jacket, finger nails digging into the fabric, head spinning. Adam was really here, was really in front of him, smelling like cigarettes, holding him, kissing him right in front of-

Reality suddenly caught up to them, the people around them staring, the beat of the music all around, and Eric’s eyes widened to an almost comically large size. “ _Adam_ -!” he whispered, as if everyone in the room wasn’t already looking at them, as if the cat wasn’t already out of the bag. Adam looked back at him, eyes also wide, as he just now had realised what he actually had done. No one around them said a thing until Aimee’s voice cut through the beat of the music, her voice high pitched.

“ _What_ _the_ _fuck_?!”

Adam and Eric let go of each other, Eric turning around to look in the direction he had come before, towards the sofa his friends were sitting in. Ola looked decidedly confused about all the commotion, and Otis and Maeve were both sitting slackjawed, staring at Eric and Adam. Loud whispers started coming from the crowd, and Adam took ahold of Eric’s arm, pulling him out of the room. Eric heard Aimee’s voice again as he was pulled out of the front door.

“What the actual _fuck_ just happened?!”

The air hitting his face was chilly, and people standing around outside turned to look at Eric and Adam as they hurried out of the front door. As they made it down the steps in front of Aimee’s house, Eric stopped.

“Wait, Adam, stop!”

Adam stopped and turned around, looking at Eric. He looked down at his grip on Eric’s arm and let go. His eyes were still wide, and they looked at each other for a while before Eric let out a little laugh. “You’re completely insane, you know that right?” The situation was so absurd that Eric couldn’t help the laugh that erupted from him. Adam looked at Eric as if he was the crazy one. Eric had to get his breath back before he could talk again. “You just did that,” he said and motioned back towards Aimee’s house. “In front of half of Moordale.” Adam looked up at Aimee’s house before the corners of his eyes crinkled in the start of a smile. 

“I guess I did,” he said and stuck his hands into his pockets, meeting Eric’s gaze with a smile playing at his lips. The horrible feelings from earlier in the day were completely gone, and Eric reached out to take ahold of Adam’s arm, pulling him towards him as he walked backwards, sitting down on the steps leading up to Aimee’s house. Adam followed and sat down next to him on the steps, right up beside him. 

“Fu-uck,” Adam said as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and took one out, putting it to his lips and lighting it. Eric watched him, feeling almost giddy. “I can’t believe I just did that.” Adam continued as he took a deep drag on his cigarette, blowing out smoke through his nose. Eric shook his head in disbelief, giving a small little laugh.

“Neither can I,” he said and nudged Adam’s shoulder with his own. They sat like that for a while, trying to grasp what actually just had happened. The heat coming from Adam’s body seemed to seep right through their clothing where they touched, and eventually Adam moved to slowly, carefully, take Eric’s hand in his own, intertwining their fingers. A million questions swirled in Eric’s head, but he didn’t even know where to begin. 

“I was kicked out of military school,” Adam suddenly said, and Eric turned to look at him with wide eyes.

“ _You_ _were_ _kicked_ _out_ _of_ _military_ _school_?” Eric parroted back, as if he didn’t quite understand the words. Adam leaned down to put of the cigarette between his feet before he looked at Eric. He rubbed his hand over his face before reacting.

“Mmm.”

”How do you get kicked out of _military_ _school_? I didn’t even know you _could_ get kicked out of military school.” Eric said, incredulous. Adam gave a small chuckle at that.

“If you want it bad enough and kick up enough of a fuss, you can get kicked out of anything.” Adam looked down at their joined hands before he continued speaking. “My dad took my phone. I couldn’t get to it until right before I got here.” Eric looked down at their joined hands as well, heart aching a little bit. “You don’t know what he’s like,” Adam said, and Eric could hear the twinge of fear in Adam’s voice. 

“What happened?” Eric asked quietly. Adam let go of Eric’s hand and lit another cigarette, taking two deep drags before he answered.

“I snuck in and took back my phone. Then I guess... I ran away. I just took off. I have no fucking clue what’s gonna happen now. I have a bag with some clothes in the bushes over there,” he said and motioned towards some rose bushes growing next to Aimee’s house. 

Eric tried to process what Adam had just told him when Adam spoke up again, looking off into the distance. “I just knew I needed to get to you.”

Anwave of fondness rolled over Eric and he leaned in close to Adam, brushing his lips against Adam’s cheek. Adam turned his head and they kissed slowly.

The front door opened behind them and they pulled apart. Eric looked over his shoulder and saw Otis exiting Aimee’s house. They locked eyes and Otis mouthed ‘are you okay?’ to Eric. Eric nodded.

“Hey, Otis,” Eric said, and Otis walked down the steps to stand in front of Eric and Adam.

“Hey Eric,” he answered and looked between Eric and Adam, a slightly hesitant look on his face. He clearly did not know how to navigate this new situation. “Hello Adam,” he said tentatively. Adam lifted the hand holding the cigarette to his mouth before answering.

“New kid.”

“I’m not-“ Otis started, but he quickly grew quiet, deciding that it probably wasn’t worth it. He moved his gaze between Eric and Adam again, looking for words. “This is... unexpected,” he finally settled on.

Adam gave a little hum as response and Eric was just about to open his mouth to say something as he felt Adam stiffen next to him.

“How did he find me?!” Adam said, panic clear in his voice. Eric was just about to ask what he was talking about when a shout was heard across the garden.

“ _ADAM_!”

Otis turned around to look, and the people who were also milling around the front of Aimee’s house stopped what they were doing, their conversations dying down. Eric looked up and saw Mr Groff walking across the lawn with hurried steps. Adam shot to his feet, startling Eric for a moment before he also stood. As Mr Groff came closer you could see the way his face was contorted in anger, and Adam’s hand flew up to take ahold of Eric’s shoulder, his grip almost painful. 

“ _YOU_ _GET_ _OVER_ _HERE_ _THIS_ _INSTANT_!” Mr Groff bellowed, and Adam turned to Eric, fear in his eyes and voice. 

“Don’t let him take me,” he said, and the way he sounded shook Eric to his core. He had never heard Adam sound afraidbefore, ever.

“I won’t,” Eric said before he even had time to think about it. The people around them stared at the headmaster if their school, beside himself with anger, stomping towards them. Eric turned to face Mr Groff, taking ahold of Adam’s hand and squeezing it tightly. 

“ _ADAM_ _GROFF_ , _COME_ _HERE_ _IMMEDIATELY_.” 

Mr Groff had stopped a bit away from the steps, shouting. The front door opened and some heads popped out to see what the commotion was about, and faces appeared in the windows.

“I don’t want to,” Eric heard Adam say next to him. 

“ _WHAT_ _YOU_ WANT _ISN’T_ _RELEVANT_! _YOU_ _DON’T_ _KNOW_ _WHAT’S_ _GOOD_ _FOR_ _YOU_!”

Adam’s hold on Eric’s hand tightened, and then Adam was shouting back at his dad.

“ _You_ don’t know what’s good for me!”

It looked like Mr Groff’s eyes would bulge out of his head, his face going a deep red colour.

“ _HOW_ _DARE_ _YOU_ _SPEAK_ _TO_ _ME_ _LIKE_ _THAT_?! _IF_ _YOU_ _WERE_ _ONLY_ _MORE_ _LIKE_ _YOUR_ _SISTER_ _AND_ _LESS_ _OF_ _A_ _FAILURE_ I _WOULDN’T_ _HAVE_ _TO-_ “

” _SHE’S_ _DEAD_ , _DAD_!” Adam shrieked so loudly that Eric nearly jumped out of his skin. “ _SHE’S_ _DEAD_ _AND_ _I_ _CAN’T_ _DO_ _ANYTHING_ _ABOUT_ _IT!_ _I_ _CAN’T_ _REPLACE_ _HER_!”

Eric watched as Mr Groff’s face turned ashen, whatever words he had dying in his mouth. Eric felt like someone had poured a bucket of cold water over him. Then, Mr Groff’s face twisted into a snarl and he started moving towards Eric and Adam. Eric felt Adam recoil next to him and Eric instinctively took a step in front of Adam, putting himself between Adam and Mr Groff. Suddenly, another scream cut through the night, causing everyone to stop and turn.

“ _Leave_ _him_ _alone_!”

In the middle of the lawn stood a woman Eric vaguely recognised, but couldn’t place, clutching a small white dog to her chest.

“Mum?” Eric heard Adam whisper, and Eric could instantly place the woman as the woman Adam had hugged right before he got into the car and was driven off to military school. Adam’s mum, Mrs  Groff.

“ _Leave_ _him_ _alone_!” she screamed again. “ _It’s_ _not_ _his_ fault!”

Mr Groff took a few steps away from Eric and Adam, towards his wife. Eric heard him starting with a “Margaret, what are you-“ before Eric turned to Adam, who was staring straight ahead at his parents.

“Adam, let’s go.” Adam tore his eyes away from the scene in front of him, nodding absentmindedly, as if he didn’t know if this was reality or not. Eric turned to Otis then, who was looking at him with wide eyes. “Otis, there’s a bag in the rose bushes over there. Go get it and meet us at the bus stop.” Eric said hurredily, his thoughts going at a million miles per hour. A determined look came over Otis’ face and he nodded firmly at Eric before he sprinted off to the left, in the direction of the rose bushes. 

“Adam, come on, let’s go,” Eric urged as he started pulling Adam back up the stairs towards the open front door. Adam looked at his parents one last time before he allowed himself to be tugged back into the house. The people parted to allow them in before they gathered up again, still trying to look at the scene unfolding outside. Eric pulled Adam through the house, towards a back door he was sure he had seen before. On their way they bumped into Ola and Maeve, who were standing in the hallway.

“What’s going on outside?” Ola asked, her gaze moving between Adam and Eric.

“We’re leaving,” is all Eric said as he continued pulling Adam towards the back door.

“Where’s Otis? He went to check on you,” Maeve called after them. Eric threw a glance over his shoulder at her as he answered. “He’s meeting us at the bus stop!” he shouted as he pulled the back door open and hurried outside.

Ola and Maeve looked at each other before they headed in the opposite direction, going to find Otis.

Eric pulled Adam along the fence that separated Aimee’s garden and the forest right next to it, staying in the darkest shadows. He had no idea where Mr Groff had gone, but he didn’t want to risk them being seen. He pulled Adam past a small shed, but Adam stopped.

“Wait, you can climb over the fence here to get out,” Adam whispered, and Eric just managed to wonder how many times Adam has snuck out this way when Aimee and Adam had been together. They both climbed on top of the roof of the small shed and jumped over the fence. They followed the outside of the fence back to the road and hurried along it back to the bus stop. When they reached it Eric had them both sit down behind the bus stop so they wouldn’t be seen by any cars driving by, in case Mr Groff was out looking. They sat in silence for a while before steps was heard coming down the road, running. They stopped on the other side of the bus stop.

“Eric?”

It was Otis, and Eric let out a breath of relief, getting up and pulling Adam with him. They got out from behind the bus stop and was met by Otis, Maeve and Ola, all looking slightly confused. Otis looked at Eric, then at Adam, then back at Eric again.

“I got the bag,” he said and held out Adam’s gym bag towards Eric and Adam. Adam reached out and took it, murmuring a “Thank you, new kid.” Otis responded with a “Don’t mention it,” and Adam walked over to sit on the bench inside of the bus stop.

“What just happened?” Otis asked Eric, and Eric shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not sure,” he said.

“Is he alright?” Ola asked and looked in the direction of Adam, who had pulled up his hoodie and buried his hands in his face. Eric looked at Adam as well and shrugged, the corners of his mouth tugging downwards. “I don’t know,” he said quietly. He assumed not.

“The bus is coming,” Maeve said and nodded her head in Eric’s direction. He turned and saw the headlights appearing in the distance. He walked over to Adam and touched his shoulder. Adam peered our from between his fingers.

“Bus is coming,” he said softly. “I’ll take you to my place,” he said, and Adam let out a small, relieved breath. 

The buss pulled up and all five of them got onto the bus. Otis and Ola sat down next to each other in a place with three places to sit facing three other places to sit. Maeve sat down next to Ola and Eric sat opposite Otis, guiding Adam to sit down next to him, opposite Ola. Adam leaned against him, resting his head against Eric’s shoulder. Otis looked at Adam for a long while before looking at Eric, giving him a supportive little smile. Eric smiled back.

Otis didn’t get off at the same stop as they got on, probably going with Ola to her place. So, when Eric got up to get off, he mouthed ‘call me’ to Eric, who nodded in affirmation. Then, he guided Adam off the bus. They walked the distance from the bus stop to Eric’s house in silence.

Eric tried to be as quiet as possible as he unlocked the front door. They slipped inside, taking care not to make too much noise not to wake anyone sleeping. Adam removed his shoes and then stood and waited for Eric to be done with removing his shoes and coat. He looked looked lost, and tired, and slightly overwhelmed, and Eric’s heart ached. He motioned with his hand for Adam to go to his room. Adam obeyed and started walking up the stairs. Eric followed him shortly thereafter, after he had checked that he front door was locked. He had just put his foot on the bottom step when his father’s sidor voice was heard from the kitchen. 

“Eric, may I speak with you for a moment?”

Adam turned around to look at Eric, clearly very on edge. Eric waved for him to continue up the stairs. 

“It’s okay,” he whispered to Adam. Adam hesitated for a moment before he started slowly walking up the stairs again. Eric watched his back as he walked for a few moments before he drew in a deep breath and went over to the kitchen. 

“Hey, dad.”

Eric’s dad was sitting at the kitchen table, half illuminated by the light coming from the lamp in the fan above the stove. In front of him laid a newspaper, and he seemed to have been busy solving a crossword puzzle.

“Hello, Eric.” He took off his reading glasses and looked at his son. “Did you have a good evening?” His voice was soft, friendly. Eric thought about the tumultuous party, Adam’s sudden appearance, Mr. Geoff’s explosion. He was conflicted, but the fact that Adam was in his room at the moment won. He finally decided on saying “It ended up good in the end.”

Eric’s dad motioned for him to come and sit opposite him at the table, and Eric did so. When he was seated, his dad took his hands in his.

“I’ve noticed you acting strange lately. Sad.” He turned his gaze upwards, in the direction of Eric’s room. “Is it because of that boy?”

Eric looked at their joined hands before he nodded. He hummed in agreement. “Yes, but it wasn’t his fault. He didn’t mean to make me sad.”

Eric’s dad was silent, so Eric looked up to meet his gaze. There was a small line of worry in his dad’s forehead, a serious but still warm look in his eyes.

“Do you like this boy? Adam.”

Eric drew in a shaky breath and let out a nervous little laugh.

“Yeah I do, dad. I like him a lot.”

“Does he like you? Does he care about you?”

Eric’s stomach clenched at the question. He thought of the wild look in Adam's eyes as he had found Eric at the party, and the way he had held him close and kissed him in front of everyone watching them, staring at them. 

“I think so. I really, really think so.”

Eric's dad squeezed his hands then, giving him a large, warm smile, and a wave of gratitude rolled over Eric. 

"Good. That's all that matters." His dad let go of Eric's hands. "Now you go. I am going to bed."

Eric smiled back at his dad and stood up. "Thanks, dad."

When he entered his room, Adam was sitting on his bed, fiddling with a pack of cigarettes. He didn't look up when Eric entered the room, seemingly lost in his thoughts as he stared into nothingness. Eric closed the door behind him and took a few steps closer, reaching out to touch Adam's shoulder softly. That pulled Adam back to reality, and he looked up to meet Eric's eyes. 

"Hello there, " Eric started, not sure how to even begin approaching all of the things that had happened earlier that night.

"Hi," Adam said back, voice small.

“How are you feeling?" Eric asked him softly, chosing his words carefully. He could only imagine what Adam was going through at the moment. What he had been going through these past few months. What his life was like with a dad like that. Adam looked away, avoiding Eric's gaze. He drew in a breath before he spoke, voice thick.

"I... I don't know."

Eric walked to sit down in his chair and rolled up to Adam so they were facing each other, faces on the same level. Adam was fiddling with his pack of cigarettes again, fully focused on using his thumbnail to try to get the sticker with the price off. Eric lightly brushed against Adam's knee, getting his attention. "Do you want to talk about what happened tonight?"

Adam met his gaze for a split second before he looked up into the ceiling. He swallowed and drew in air through his mouth before he spoke. "I, uuh... I don't think I know how to talk about it." His voice wasn't much louder than a whisper, swaying in a way that told Eric that he was holding back tears. Eric touched Adam's knee again, putting some pressure on the touch this time, showing Adam that he was there. 

"That's okay."  Eric said, daring to slowly stroke his thumb up and down in little movements, hoping it would be reassuring. The texture of Adam's jeans was rough against his skin. 

Adam looked at him and placed his elbows on his thighs as he covered his mouth and nose with his hands. He breathed out harshly before he swore, screwing his eyes shut.

“Fuck..!" When he opened his eyes to meet Eric's gaze, his eyes were red and Eric could see tears in the corner of his eyes, threatening to spill out. "It’s all so fucked up. I'm so fucked up."

 Eric smiled a little, just a little supportive upwards quirk of the corner of his mouth. "We're all a bit fucked up, Adam." He was still slowly stroking Adam's knee. Adam let out a little breathy sound at that, something that sounded a bit like a laugh to Eric's ears. It made Eric feel warm, that he could make Adam laugh, even in a situation like this.

“I'm just a lot more fucked up than everybody else." Adam let his hands fall down from his face, which caused one of them to land on top of Eric's. A little jolt of electricity flew through Eric when Adam took his hand and slowly, carefully wound their fingers together. Eric didn't move, let Adam lead, didn't want to spook him. Adam looked at him then, eyes wide open and vulnerable as he tugged on Eric's hand. Eric went with the motion and stood up, taking a step forward to close the gap between them. Adam put his free arm around Eric's waist and pulled him close, burrowing his face in Eric's shirt. Eric stood in silence as Adam held onto him, putting his hand on the back of Adam's neck, skin against skin. They stayed like that for a while, until Eric nudged Adam's temple.

"You wannu lie down for a bit?"

Adam nodded into Eric's front, reluctantly letting go. Eric took a step back and turned to switch the lights off. When he did, only a small nightlight giving off a soft, orange light gave light to the room. When he turned back around again, Adam had stood up and was taking off his hoodie and jeans jacket, which he had been wearing up until this point. He discarded the garments on the floor at the base of Eric's bed before he climbed into it, lying down on his side. Eric climbed in after him, lying on his side to face him. Immediately, Adam wrapped his arms around Eric and pulled him close, burrowing his face into his neck. Eric's heart ached for Adam when he wrapped one arm around his shoulders, stroking the back of his head soothingly. He ran his nails lightly through Adam’s buzzed hair, settling against the other young man’s slightly larger body. They lied like that for a while before Adam’s shoulders started to shake, and the soft sound of Adam’s crying filled the room. Eric just held him, letting Adam go through the motions, letting him let it all out, letting Adam cling to him. Eric didn’t know how much time had passed when Adam’s shoulder stopped should aking and his breathing evened out, probably fallen asleep out of pure exhaustion. Eric pulled his head back just a little, allowing him to look at Adam’s face. He dragged his knuckles across Adam’s cheekbone, where the lightly freckled skin was wet with tears. Adam shifted in his sleep, hugging Eric closer, and Eric soon fell into sleep as well.


	10. Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update has taken sooo much longer! It’s for several reasons - 1) my next uni course started properly and it’s intense, taking up a lot of time.
> 
> 2) I’ve been writing some scenes for upcoming chapters, because I wanted to get them on paper so to speak
> 
> 3) I needed to take a little break from the headspace I get in when I write this, because it gets quite intense and emotional.
> 
> I’m hoping to update at least once a week going forward. Thank you so, so, SO much for all the kudos, bookmarks and comments. It’s so amazing to see how much you enjoy this fic. <3

When Eric woke up, his room was light. He wasn’t sure what he woken him up. He blinks himself awake, feeling his body come to life. He was lying on his back, so he only saw ceiling. He turned to his right, and was greeted by Adam’s sleeping form. Adam was facing away from him, his breathing even and calm. Eric let his gaze glide over Adam’s body, from the patch of skin at the back of his neck between his hairline and his shirt, down over his arm, down to his hip. He could only imagine how exhausted Adam was after last night, judging from how tired he felt himself, kind of like a wrung out washing cloth. Eric reached for his phone. It was 10 am, and he was surprised his father or one of his sisters hadn’t come and woken him up yet. He suspected his father was letting them sleep, not wanting to intrude.

He had a message from Otis, sent about an hour earlier. He unlocked his phone and checked.

_Call_ _me_ _later?_ _Nothing_ _serious_ , _just_ _wanna_ _check_ _on_ _you_

Eric move as slowly and carefully as he could as he slid out of bed, not wanting to wake Eric up. He moved silently out of his room and into the hallway, closing his bedroom door behind him. He quickly rang up Otis, using FaceTime. Eric looked at his own face for the few signals it took for Otis to answer, trying to not think too much about how tired he looked.

Eric!” Otis said as he answered, sounding relieved. He was sitting at his desk. Eric could see Otis’ bed and bedroom in the background.

Eric smiled.

“Hey, Otis,” Eric said softly. “Sorry for not calling you yesterday. We kind of just... crashed and fell asleep.”

“It’s alright, I figured that’s what happened.” Otis went quiet for a little while before he continued. “So... yesterday was... intense,” he said, and Eric could see how he was carefully picking which words to use, his facial expression slightly hesitant. Eric shook his head and laughed a little.

“That’s a very diplomatic way of putting it.” 

Otis looked apologetic.

“Sorry, I just...” He grew quiet, and he looked thoughtful. Apparently abandoning what his previous chain of thought was, he straightened a bit. “So, you and Adam, huh?” 

There was no judgement there, just a question, interest in his friend. Eric wanted to reach through the phone and hug his friend.

“Yeah it just kind of... happened. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you! I had no idea he was going to show up yesterday and I-”

Otis chuckled to himself, his tone of voice teasing as he interrupted Eric. “Yeah, that’s for sure. You should have seen your own face!”

“Hey!” Eric said, mock offended. “But still, I’m sorry, it’s just... it’s complicated.” 

Eric watched as Otis lifted a glass of water into view of the camera and drank. He hummed as response to what Eric said, shaking his head.

“Don’t apologise. It wasn’t your place to tell, and it wasn’t my place to know. Narrative.”

Eric nodded absentmindedly. “Narrative,” he echoed. He looked off to the side, thinking.

“It does sound pretty complicated though, to be honest. Adam hasn’t been... the nicest to you over these past few years.” 

Eric looked back at the screen, meeting Otis’ gaze through the phone.

“That’s one way of putting it.” He drew in a deep breath and let it back out before continuing. “He’s so different, but still the same. It’s still Adam, but... still kind of someone else.” He looked down at the floor. “It’s a bit odd. I haven’t really wrapped my head around it,” he confesses silently, voicing a feeling he hadn’t said out loud before.

“I’m here if you want to talk about it,” Otis’ voice said from the phone, and Eric scowled a bit at him.

“Hey, no therapizing me!” His voice and face softened. “But thanks man, I appreciate it.”

Otis held up his free hand.

“No therapizing, I promise.” 

“I just need to wrap my head around it. Talk to you later, okay?”

Otis nodded at his phone. “Yeah man, talk to you later.”

Eric finished the call. He could hear movement from downstairs, the sound of plates and glasses being set out on the kitchen table. Soon, his dad would come and knock on his door to wake him up for breakfast. Eric chewed on the inside of his cheek, standing outside of his door for a second before opening it and heading back inside.

/

Adam was woken up by the sound of a door closing. He blinked himself awake and looked at a ceiling that definitely wasn't his. His first thought was that he really wanted a cigarette, his body screaming for nicotine. He propped himself up on his elbows and looked around the room, groggily taking in his surroundings.

_Eric's_ _room_.

He sat up and scrubbed his hands over his face, swiping his tongue over the outside of his teeth. _Fucking_ _hell_ , _last_ _night_ _had_ _been_ _a_ _shit_ _show_. He rested his forehead against his knees as he thought about what actually had happened. 

"Guess I'm homeless now or something," he said to himself, smiling bitterly. _What_ _the_ _fuck_ _was_ _he_ _supposed_ _to_ _do_ _now_? He was only sure of one thing, and that was that he wasn't going back to his parents place. He turned his head and looked out through a glass door leading to a small balcony, where a small table and two chairs had been squeezed in. Rain drops were hitting the glass and slowly sliding down the pane. Hopefully Eric's parents would let him stay today. 

Adam swallowed.

_Hopefully_ _Eric_ _wanted_ _him_ _to_ _stay_.

There was this feeling of pressure around Adam's head and he shook his head, willing it away. Fuck, he really wanted a smoke. For a moment he thought about lighting one up inside, but then decided against it. At least he could try to behave if he wanted Eric's parents to allow him to stay. Adam could hear Eric's voice from the outside of the bedroom door, but he couldn't hear what he was saying. He couldn’t hear any other voice though. Was Eric on the phone?

The sound of the bedroom door opening made him look over to the doorway. Eric appeared, holding his phone in his hand. They looked at each other in silence for a moment before Eric smiled.

"You sleep okay?"

Adam nodded. "Yeah, like a rock." He threw a glance towards the balcony door. "Is it alright if I have a smoke on the balcony?"

Eric looked over his head at the balcony door before he looked back at Adam. "Oh sure, yeah, no problem."

Adam got out of bed and stretched slightly. He was still wearing the same clothes as he had the day before, since he fell asleep in them. He really wanted a change, but he also really needed a shower first. All of that was for later though. First, nicotine. He bent down and rummaged through his jacket, which was lying on the floor next to him. Getting his cigarettes and lighter, he walked over to the balcony door and opened it, stepping outside. The raid was only a light drizzle, but he still shielded the flame with his hand. He drew in a deep drag and felt the nicotine rushing through his system, waking him up. The rain was cool on his skin, and it felt good. He held his hand out, palm upwards, and watched the droplets hits his skin as he smoked. He tried his very best not to think about the night before, he really did, but it was really fucking hard. Adam reached up and scratched the back of his neck. The way his dad had come after him was downright... scary, but at least he'd gotten away. Adam let his eyes slide close and he just focused on the sound of the rain and the taste on the cigarette on his tongue. 

He really had kissed Eric in front of everyone. His cheeks heated up a bit when he thought about it. He could only imagine the way the rumours was spreading like wildfire right now, and he could only imagine what it would be like to come back to Moordale after something like this.

_Back_ _to_ _Moordale?_ _Yeah_ _right_. 

His dad was still the headmaster, and as if he would let Adam back. Adam shivered a little.

He finished up the cigarette and looked around for somewhere to leave the last bit, but didn't find any good place to put it. He thought about just tossing it off the balcony for a moment, but decided to put it back into the pack again. Then, he headed back inside. Eric was there, sitting in his desk chair, looking at his phone, when Adam closed the door to the balcony behind him. The sound made Eric look up.

"You hungry? My parents have made breakfast, if you want to eat."

Adam thought about it. He hadn't eaten in a long while, sometime in the middle of the day before he ran out of his parents house, and now that he thought about it he could feel his stomach rumbling.

"Breakfast sound awesome," he said and took a few steps into the room, towards Eric. Eric gave him a smile and stood up.

"Great, I'll tell my dad that we'll be down in a sec."

_Come_ _on_ _Adam_ , _do_ _something_. 

Before Adam could change his him, his arm shot out and he grabbed ahold of Eric's wrist. Eric jumped a little, looking at him with wide eyes. 

"A-Adam..?" Eric's voice was unsure.

Adam took another step closer, closing the distance between them. He cleared his throat, looking down at his feet.

"It was awesome letting me crash me here last night, " he managed to say, keeping his voice steady. He could feel Eric relax next to him, a smile on his lips.

"Of course Adam, I-"

"Wait," Adam interrupted him, putting his hands on the sides of Eric's face. Eric instantly grew quiet. He forced himself to look at Eric, to look into the deep brown eyes and not look away. "Thank you." He could hear Eric drew in a sharp breath at the words. Adam leaned in and pressed his lips against Eric's impossibly soft ones, and Eric kissed him back. Adam felt like a simple thank you wasn't enough, but he didn't know how to show his appreciation, didn't know what more to say, so he tried to pour what he couldn't articulate into the kiss. Eric’s hands were at his sides then, and Adam used his hands to angle Eric’s head upwards, allowing him to deepen the kiss. Eric’s tongue coiled against his and blood started pumping in Adam’s body, rushing towards his groin. Eric pulled away from the kiss, breathing harshly. 

“Wait, my parents are waiting for us downstairs,” Eric panted, and Adam had to control himself not to lean back in and kiss the other young man again. He closed his eyes and willed his starting erection away, thinking of - imagining his dad walking in and seeing his cumface - _aaaand that does it._

He opened his eyes and let go of Eric, giving a firm nod.

“Breakfast.”

Eric smiled and nodded back.

“Breakfast.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because Otis and Eric are defo the kind of friends that FaceTime.
> 
> Also: AAAHHHH SEASON 2 CONFIRMED AAAHHHH


	11. Breakfast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Your love and support for this fic is overwhelming, and I just can't thank you all enough.
> 
> I haven’t properly gone through this chapter, so I apologise for any strange sentences or typos. I’ve been super busy this week but I still want to make sure you get a next chapter this week. <3  
> EDIT: I’ve now taken the time to go through and fix what I could, rewriting some minor details as well since they didn’t match.
> 
> Again, I realised that we don't actually learn the name of Eric's mother in the show, so I just gave her a first name.

When Adam and Eric made it downstairs and into the kitchen, Eric’s mother and one of his sisters were already seated at the breakfast table. They had smelled the pancakes all the way in the upstairs hallway outside of Eric’s room, and Eric’s dad was currently standing at the stove flipping pancakes. His dad turned to look at Eric and Adam as they entered the kitchen.

“Good morning,” he said and smiled, looking first at Eric, then at Adam, then at Eric again. Eric suppressed a yawn and smiled back at his father, thinking about the conversation they had had last night.

“Morning, dad,” he answered and looked over to where his mother and sister were seated.

“Good morning, Mr. Effiong.” Eric turned to Adam when he heard the stiffness in Adam’s voice, and as he looked at Adam he could visibly see how uncomfortable he was. He reached out to take ahold of Adam’s sleeve and pulled him with him towards the breakfast table.

“It smells amazing dad,” he said as he kind of half pushed Adam towards a chair.

“Thank you, Eric,” his dad responded as Eric’s youngest sister zipped into the kitchen past Adam and Eric, plopping herself down on the chair Eric had meant for Adam to sit on, effectively dividing the open seats so Adam and Eric could no longer sit next to each other. Eric motioned for Adam to sit down next to his mum, and Adam did so. Eric walked around the table and sat down next to his oldest sister. She stuck out her tongue and him and he stuck out his back.

“Children! Breakfast is ready!” Eric’s dad called for the remaining of the sisters before he took the plate with the stack of pancakes and carried it from the counter top to the kitchen table. Eric’s youngest sister immediately reached for the pancakes. Eric found himself focused almost purely on Adam and how lost he was looking in this environment. Eric didn’t know for sure how Adam’s family worked, but from what he had seen lately and from what he could imagine it was having Headmaster Groff for a father, he could guess that it was very different from the situation he was in at the moment. Eric was used to the big, loud family, where even though they all kept going on each other’s nerves, they still cared deeply for each other and in the end, they were always there to support each other. Eric watched as his mum leaned towards Adam.

“Adam, would you be a dear and pass me the orange juice?”

Adam looked around the table and spotted the jug of juice.

“Of course, Mrs. Effiong,” he said politely as he handed her the jug.

“Please, call me Daraja,” she said as he accepted it, smiling warmly.

Adam seemed unsure how to respond to that, but was saved by Eric’s remaining two sisters hurrying into the kitchen and seating themselves by the table. With everyone gathered, Eric’s dad sat down as well and they all started having breakfast together. It was like any other family breakfast: loud talking, laughing, bickering, teasing. Eric noticed how Adam seemed to relax a bit more the longer the breakfast went on, and he looked... almost a bit happy, albeit a bit overwhelmed. At one point during the breakfast their eyes met Adam’s and responded to Eric’s wide smile with a little one of his own.

When the pancakes had been eaten and Eric’s dad got up to start to pick up people’s empty plates, Adam volunteered to help out. When Adam reached over the table to take Eric’s plate, their hands touched, and they both lingered longer than was necessary. There was something glittering in Adam’s eyes and Eric really wanted to kiss him, but then Adam has taken his plate and straightened back up again. Eric watched as Adam turned around and walked over to Eric’s dad where he stood next to the sink, handing him the plates. Eric still has some juice left in his glass, so he lifted it to his mouth to finish the last of the liquid. Then, Eric’s youngest sister spoke.

“Adam?”

Adam turned around and looked at her. “Yeah?”

“Are you Eric’s boyfriend?”

Eric’s eyes widened and the gulp of juice he was just about to swallow went down the completely wrong way, causing him to cough it up into his nose, which made his whole face feel like it was on fire and sending him into a hacking cough. The whole room turned to look at Eric, who was struggling to breathe through the coughing. His mum reached over to soothingly stroke his back, looking at him with concern.

“Are you alright, love?” she said with worry in her voice, and he waved dismissively at her, gulping down air.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” he manage to croak, wiping at the tears that has formed in the corner of his eyes. He looked at Adam, who was looking at him with wide eyes, his cheeks tinted slightly red. Eric suddenly stood up.

“Thanks for breakfast mum and dad,” he said as he walked out of the kitchen, pulling Adam with him.

“Thank you very much,” Adam managed to say before he was pulled out of the kitchen. When they were inside of Eric’s room, Eric buried his face in his hands. God, his face felt so warm, and he was sure he was blushing furiously. His heart was beating so fast, and he didn’t really dare to look at Adam. They’d never talked about what they actually were to each other! He thought about Otis’ words, and yeah, this whole thing was so weird, and-

“Your family is nice.”

Adam’s voice made Eric’s rushing thoughts grind to a halt. Eric lifted his face out of his hands and looked at Adam, who had sat himself down in his computer chair. All Eric managed was a super eloquent ‘huh?’ as a response, and Adam shrugged his shoulders.

“They’re nice. I like them.”

Eric let his hands hang down by his side and he nodded.

“I think they like you too.”

Adam gave a little relieved smile at that, as if he’d worried that they would dislike him, and Eric’s chest hurt a little bit. The room went silent and Eric’s mind started racing again. Should be bring up what his sister had asked? How would he even start that conversation?

“Can I borrow your shower?” Adam, once again, came to the rescue by bringing up something entirely different. He was motioning to the clothes he was wearing. “I kinda need to change...”

Eric, thankful for the change of subject, nodded. “Of course! I’ll get you a towel.” He walked over to his wardrobe and pulled out a large tie-dye towel, handing it to Adam. “Bathroom is just down the hallway.”

Adam accepted the towel, grabbed his bag and headed out of Eric’s room.

/

The bathroom, just as Eric has said, was down the hallway. It was a small room with a toilet, sink and shower with sliding glass doors just big enough for one person. Adam was really looking forward to having a shower, cause it had been well over two days since his last one. He quickly shed the clothes he was wearing and bent down to pull out a fresh change of clothing that included a green T-shirt, a pair of black socks, a pair of red boxer briefs and a pair of plain gray jogging trousers.

The water was just warm enough when he stepped inside the shower, and the water felt really great on his skin. He hadn’t packed any soap, _because_ _who_ _the_ _fuck_ _thinks_ _about_ _soap_ _when_ _you’re_ _trying_ _to_ _get_ _away_ _from_ _your_ _insane_ _dad_ , so Adam would just have to use some of Eric’s. There was one of those small shower racks attached to the corner of the shower, and the different levels were marked with name tags. The bottom ones belonged to Eric’s sisters, and the one at at the top was Eric’s. Adam recognised the bottles and tubs from the brand Lush, because Aimee had used the same brand. There were all kinds of exfoliating this and nurturing that, but Adam eventually found a bottle that simply said ‘shower gel’ after lifting some other bottles out of the way. He squeezed some into the palm of his hand and was hit by the smell of honey and spices, which if he was being honest, smelled really good.

His mind wandered as he soaped himself up. Eric’s family did seem really nice. Like, too nice. Like, suspiciously nice. But then, maybe that’s what normal families were like. He wouldn’t fucking know what a normal family was if it punched him in the face. His face heated up as he thought about what Eric’s sister had asked. _Boyfriend?_ He had been Aimee’s boyfriend. But apparently a shit boyfriend. His throat felt thick when he thought about Eric, and his limbs felt heavy, and the thought of the word boyfriend made his fucking head spin. He pushed the thought away and finished showering, dried himself off and put on his new change of clothes. Then, he headed back to Eric’s room.

/

Eric had moved to the bed and was lazily scrolling through twitter when Adam entered, trying to keep his mind off the conversation he knew they needed to have. Adam put his bag on the floor next to the door and closed it behind him. He got into the bed as well, lying down to face Eric. Eric chewed on his bottom lip, gathering courage.

Adam smiled at Eric, a teasing look in his eyes.

“What’re ya doing, Tromboner?”

That word cut through Eric and gave him that last little push, to actually face what Otis had been talking about.

“Don’t call me that anymore.”

Adam’s little playful smiled faltered, seemingly unsure of himself. He retreated from Eric a bit.

“Why? I always call you that.”

Eric pushed on, not backing down.

“It makes me feel bad. You use it to bring me down.”

Adam had that deadpan look on his face.

“That’s not what I mean.”

Eric’s face was serious as he moved backwards a bit, putting some distance between them in the bed.

“That doesn’t matter.”

Adam listened passively, his face stone. Eric had to force himself to continue, to stand up for himself. He had to say this. “What’s important is how it makes me feel, and it makes me feel like shit.”

Adam’s eyebrows furrowed a bit at that, as if he was going to protest, but he said nothing.

Eric motioned with his hand between the two, holding Adam’s gaze.

“Adam, you’ve got to understand that this, whatever the two of us are, this is messy.” Adam opened his mouth to say something but closed it again. Eric could practically see the cogs working in Adam‘s head. Eric waited for him to process, and finally Adam spoke, voice barely louder than a whisper.

“Because of me?”

“No, not because of-“ Eric started automatically, instinctively trying to defuse a situation that might arise, but he stopped himself. He drew in a deep breath and let it out before he started talking again. “Yes, because of you. And I don’t mean because of your dad and everything. Adam you are- _were_ my bully for years.” Something flickered in Adam’s eyes, but his face remained neutral, deadpan. Eric closed his eyes, focusing on the swell of emotions he was feeling.

“You’ve given me shit for years, for, for...” He opened his eyes and looked at Adam again. “...for reasons I never understood. It’s like this mess of, of _feelings_ all jumbled up and I can’t... separate them.” Eric grew silent, the voice in his head saying _stop_ _stop_ _stop_ telling him this taking over.

Adam spoke then.

“I’ve hurt you.” It was a statement.

Their eyes met and Eric let out a shaky breath.

“Yeah, yeah you have. A lot.” Eric closed his eyes again, feeling tears starting to gather behind his eyelids. “There’s been all these bad feelings for so long, and now there’s these good feelings, these nice feelings, and it’s hard. Friday, when you didn’t text me, I though you had played some cruel joke on me. I didn’t...” He drew in a deep breath before continuing. “Then when you showed up, it felt amazing. Going so quickly from one to another, it’s... it’s a lot.”

He could hear Adam clear his throat, and his voice was thick when he spoke.

"How do I fix it?"

Eric shook his head. "You can't. You just have to do better." He didn't know if he dared to open his eyes and face Adam right now. Adam was still next to him, and Eric could only hear him breathe. When Eric opened his eyes, Adam had closed his, face neutral apart from a worried line between his eyebrows. Carefully, Eric raised his hand and touched Adam's cheek. Adam drew in a sharp breath when they touched, and Eric let his fingers move over Adam's cheek until he had his whole hand on Adam's right cheek, hot to the touch. In a mirror of the movement he had done the night before, he dragged his other hand's knuckles over Adam's left cheekbone.

He didn't understand this situation himself. He didn't understand the fondness for he had in Adam, this feeling in his chest. It was as if this was a different person, a different Adam, but he knew it really wasn't. He moved his thumb to brush over Adam's lower lip, and Adam parted his lips just slightly when he did so. Eric brushed his thumb back and forth. This mouth had caused him so much pain, so many harsh words had came out of it, but now it spoke tenderly to him, pressed kisses to his skin that felt like it would burn him up from the inside, but in a good way. His fingers drifted outwards, tracing lines over Adam's chin, furth down and under, following his jutting jawline, up behind to where Eric could feel Adam's pulse under his fingers. The skin was so soft there, so tender, and Eric held his fingers there for a while. Eric moved his other hand to feel his own pulse, and they beat almost in tandem, in sync. He moved his hand downwards then, just lightly encircling Adam's throat. He watched his hand move down Adam's throat, the lightly freckled skin almost self-luminous against his own. Adam swallowed then, and his adam's apple bobbed against the soft skin of Eric's palm. Eric snapped his gaze upwards, and was met dark hazel eyes, where a hundred different emotions seemed to swirl. A dark, heady feeling of power settled in the bottom of his stomach, and he almost felt a bit ashamed. He could hurt Adam, he was in the position to do so, but he didn't.

Eric shifted, lifted his leg and moved to straddle Adam, and something dark flashed in Adam's eyes when he settled down. Eric left his hand drift further downwards, looking down at his hand as he touched, wanted to feel how Adam was human just like him, could break just like him. He needed to be able to feel Adam's body as something other than a weapon, something that caused him pain, something that made him shy away in fear.

He followed a jutting collarbone up to a large shoulder, cupping it and feeling the bones, muscles and tendons there. He felt the stretchmarks against his fingertips, the small divets in the skin where the skin had torn a bit from sudden growth spurts, the texture so much smoother against his own skin. Eric moved his other hand down Adam's front, the hairs on Adam's chest tickling his palm slightly until he reached the hem of Adam's loose T-shirt. Eric sat back just the smallest amount.

"Take if off," he said, and it wasn't a question. Adam didn't protest, moving his arms to grab the bottom of the T-shirt  and then pulling it over his head, not breaking eye contact. Eric looked down at his hand as it travelled down Adam's chest stopping to rest over his heart. Eric looked up to hold Adam's gaze again, leaning in close.

"You never get to do that to me again," he said before he leaned in to kiss Adam. As soon as Eric's lips met his, Adam gave a pained sound, as if he was dying, and took anything and everything Eric would give him. Eric kissed slow and deliberate, exploring Adam's mouth and claiming it as his. Adam strained under him, Eric feeling the muscles in his chest and shoulders tensing. Eric realised that Adam was keeping himself from touching Eric, fisting the sheets under them. As Eric broke off the kiss and started pressing openmouthed kisses along Adam's jawline, Eric felt Adam harden under him, through his jogging pants. The fact that he made Adam react like that made something like possessiveness settle in his chest, and he hardened alongside him.

"You never get to hurt me like that again," Eric said and ground his hips downwards, punctuating his sentence with pushing their erections against eachother. Adam's head fell back against the headboard and he let out a broken moan. Eric leaned in close, his lips hovering just above Adam's. He could feel Adam's harsh breathing against his lips. "If you do, I will never, ever forgive you. Do you understand?"

Adam gave a whining sound from the back of his throath and nodded. Eric closed the last distance between them and claimed Adam's lips in yet another kiss. They kissed until they were both breathless, and Eric moved to push down both their trousers, freeing both of their cocks from layers of clothing. Both of them moaned and Eric wrapped his hand around their cocks, squeezing them together. Adam was almost impossibly hard against him, and Eric just had this need to see him come undone under him. They were both so hot and hard, and it was overwhelming. Eric started to move his hips back and forth slightly, causing them to slide against each other. It was intoxicating, Adam under him, straining against him, and he increased the speed of his thrusts. Eric looked down at his hand working, his mouth going dry at the sight of the head of both their cocks with his hand wrapped around them. A shiver of pleasure went through him and his cock ached dully against Adam's. He stilled his strokes and put the flesh of his thumb against Adam's slit, spreading the precome that had gathered there before pushing his thumb against the slit with just the smallest amount of pressure.

Adam's hands flew up to grip the top of the headboard, knuckles going white from the force of his grip. He strained up against Eric, who didn't let up his own grip. He applied more pressure, placing his other hand on Adam's jawline, getting his attention, holding his eyes.

"Are you going to come?" Eric asked, and Adam's eyes were dark, his pupils blown wide. “Come then,” he urged, applying just the slightest hint of nail. Adam bent like bow and shouted as he came, pulsating in Eric’s hand and painting his own abdomen in white streaks.

Eric held Adam’s cock until it started to soften, and Adam came down from the rush. His breathing started calming down and his eyes changed from being unseeing to taking in the world around him again. Eric placed his hands on Adam’s hips, feeling the sharp bones there. He drank in the sight before him, Adam painted with his own come, skin flushed over, face open. Eric lifted his hands and dragged two fingers through some of Adam’s spend, slowly rubbing it into his pale skin. He felt Adam’s eyes on him, like it almost licked his skin. He reached up for Adam’s right arm, still up and gripping the heardboard. Eric took ahold of his arm and guided it downwards, towards him, towards his still aching erection. Adam moves it the way Eric wanted, and when Eric guided his hand to his cock he wrapped a large around him. Eric bucked slightly into the grip, a fire still burning in the bottom of his stomach. Adam’s fingers created a dry, warm tunnel with just the right amount of friction, and Eric started to rock back and forth a bit. He reached out to hold onto Adam’s other arm, fingers digging into bicep. Adam started to move his hand slightly, in unison with Eric’s movements, and Eric had to force his eyes to remain open, wanting to see Adam. What felt like little shocks of electricity rushed up his spine, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as they locked eyes. Eric felt seen, different from the way he had often felt stared at by Adam, and he liked it. He surged forward as Adam’s strokes picked up speed, grabbing ahold of the top of the headboard, hand landing half on top of Adam’s. Adam turned his face upwards, and Eric moved their foreheads together, moving his free hand to lay his palm against Adam’s cheek. He was breathing harshly now, and wouldn’t be able to last much longer.

“Adam,” he breathed right before his muscles coiled and he came, adding more white streaks to Adam’s abdomen. “Kiss me,” he murmured as he found his voice again, and Adam obliged, angling his head and pressing their lips together. Adam’s arms came up and wound around him, holding him close, and Eric relaxed into Adam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there’s this discourse on parts of the internet about how incredibly problematic Eric/Adam is, and I agree with some of it, but not all. I’m a survivor of years of bullying, and I know how incredibly painful it is. I also know how very skewed the relationship to your bully/previous bully is. I agree that if season 2 doesn’t discuss the fact at all that Adam bullied Eric for years, then that is incredibly problematic. However, Sex Education is a show exploring often problematic relationships, romantic or not, and I have high hopes that the writers will deal with their history together in a good way. I also personally don’t agree with the analysis that Adam is a closeted gay who then goes on to gaybash. He’s a way more complicated character than that, and as a pan person who realised early in their 20s that I wasn’t just straight, I feel with Adam as a character. This chapter is my way of dealing with some of the discourse, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter (and thank you if you read this long ass note <3)


	12. Lazy Saturday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have an update for you amazing, perfect people who read my fic! <3 I want to thank all of you so, so much for patiently waiting for updates and giving me positive and encouraging comments along the way!  
> It realise it's been a month since I updated. Uni has been keeping me busy with A LOT of compulsory writing, essays and the like, so I've just not felt up to writing when I've had some time off. Finally though, I managed to get time and inspiration to write the continuation. I love these two to bits, and I can't wait to keep sharing my idea of their continued journey together. Now, enjoy this slightly longer chapter <3

They breathed together for some long moments, until Eric’s legs started to strain when the endorphins were no longer rushing through his body. He straightened up a bit, grimacing as his thighs protested. Adam looked down at himself, giving a sound that Eric’s couldn’t really place.

“What an unnecessary shower,” he said and moved his hand to poke at his and Eric’s spunk collected on his abdomen. Eric’s face heated up, and he started to reach for the tissue box.

“Sorry, here-!”

Adam rolled his eyes, but he was also smiling. “Don’t apologise, you weirdo. I wouldn’t jerk you off if I was scared of some spunk.”

Eric held the tissue box in his hands as he met Adam’s gaze.

“It’s just...” He looked down at Adam’s fingers, which were still poking at his skin. “...kinda unsanitary.”

Adam breathed out harshly through his nose, in that way that meant that he was laughing.

“ ‘Unsanitary’?” he parroted back, his smile turning downright mischievous. He lifted his eyebrows in a dare towards Eric and lifted his hand towards his mouth. Eric’s eyes went wide when he realised what Adam was about to do. He dropped the tissue box and quickly grabbed ahold of Adam’s arm, halting it.

“ _Do not_ put that in your mouth!”

Adam’s eyes glittered as he strained against Eric’s hold, managing to incrementally move his hand closer to his mouth.

“Stop me,” Adam said, the look in his eyes challenging.

“Just don’t!” Eric made an exasperated sound when he didn’t quite manage to hold Adam’s arm still. “How are you so strong?!”

Adam snickered at Eric, who in a desperate move decided to try to pin down Adam’s arm against his chest. This turned into some kind of friendly wrestling match, and eventually Adam managed to flip them over so he was on top of Eric. They were both breathing harshly, and they paused for a moment when Adam put his hands on Eric’s hips, and Eric craned his neck so they could kiss. It grew heated quickly, Eric’s hand moving up to scrape through Adam’s short hair.

Then, knocking on Eric’s door that pulled them straight out of the moment. Eric’s dad’s muffled voice was heard from the other side of the door.

“Eric, you will have to make dinner for yourself this evening. Your mother and I are going out.” Then, added on, almost as an after thought: “Adam is welcome to stay, of course.”

Eric looked wide eyed at Adam as his dad spoke, and his slightly scared look was mirrored in Adam’s face. He cleared his throat before he answered.

“Uh, yeah, thanks dad,” he called out.

They both listened in silence as Eric’s dad’s footsteps disappeared down the stairs. When the steps could no longer be heard they both let out a small relieved laugh.

“You wanna go for a walk?” Eric eventually Adam when the laughter had died down. Adam nodded.

“Sure.” Adam gave a little grunt. “I need those tissues first though.” He put his weight on his elbows and lifted up his upper body, looking down between them. Eric looked down as well and made a disgusted sound.

“Now I need a shower!”

Eric didn’t have a shower, instead using a few napkins to wipe himself off. Adam snickered at him as he made little disgusted noises as he tossed the used napkins in the trash bin under his desk.

“You didn’t seem to mind it before,” Adam said with a pointed look, crossing his arms behind his head and resting down on the bed. Eric looked at him with a slightly offended look, mouth open. “ _Adam_!”

“Wha? You didn’t,” he said in a deadpan way, but his eyes were glittering.

“That was when-“ Eric stopped himself, cheeks heating up when he thought about it. “That was when I was horny, alright?” He said the word under his breath, in some kind of stage whisper.

“I like you when you’re horny. You’re less tense then,” Adam replied, and Eric was just about to say something defensive when he realised that Adam was, in his own way, complementing him. Eric swallowed down the retort that had almost made his way out of his mouth.

“Let’s go outside then?”

/

It was getting chillier outside now, winter approaching fast. They walked side by side down the street, past the houses of Eric’s neighbours, only meeting an elderly couple slowly making their way home from a nearby corner shop, judging from the shopping bag in the lady’s hand. When they’d passed, Adam spoke up.

“I wonder if I’m ever gonna grow that old.”

Eric buried his face deeper into his scarf and looked at Adam.

“Why wouldn’t you?”

Adam shook his shoulders, the corners of his mouth pulling downwards for a moment. “I dunno. I never really thought about the future like that.” He looked down at his feet and kicked at a rock that was in his way. “Also,” he continued, waving the cigarette he was holding at Eric, making a point. “I’ll probably die of lung cancer way before then.” He took a deep breath of the cigarette, breathing out smoke a moment later. Eric watched him for a moment before speaking up.

“Not to embolden you in your smoking or anything, but my auntie- or I guess, technically it’s my mum’s auntie- has been a smoker her whole life and she’s still kicking about. She’s over 90 now.”

Adam snorted as response. “Neat. I guess you won’t be rid of me just yet then.”

They had come to an intersection. Just down the street was the closest bus stop to get into town.

“You might be an unbearable shit Adam, but for some reason, I quite like your company.”

Adam pulled a face of mock shock.

“Wow, thank you, you’re so kind.”

Chatter was heard from a group of people walking down the street towards them, probably people who had gotten off the bus from town.

Eric stuck his nose into the air, feigning arrogance.

“Thank you, I know. I am nothing if not benevolent.”

Adam blew out smoke through his nose and dropped the butt of his cigarette on the ground, crushing in underfoot.

“I've no fucking clue what 'benevolent' means, but I guess I’m in luck then. Means I won’t have to sleep outside just yet.”

The words cut into Eric and the joking mood disappeared, the joke just a bit too real. It brought both of them back to the reality of the situation Adam was in, a reality neither of them wanted to think about. Before Eric had time to think about it, he had reached out and taken Adam’s hand in his.

“It’s alright,” he said, but he wasn’t really sure what he was referring to, to be perfectly honest. It just sounded like a good thing to say. Adam looked at him for a second before looking down at their hands. He intertwined their fingers.

“Thanks.”

The chatter of the the group of people was really close now, and Eric could pick up little snippets of conversation.

“Hey, isn’t that Adam Groff?”

Eric turned his head to look over his shoulder and saw three people, two girls and a boy, who he vaguely recognised. They might have been in the year below them. They had stopped walking and at the moment was just kinda stood looking at Eric and Adam, whispering to each other, looking at Adam's and Eric's intertwined fingers.

“What, you got a problem with this?” Adam called out at them, motioning towards their hands. The group didn’t respond, still just standing there. Eric wasn’t sure what to do. His gut was telling him to just ignore them, but Adam had other ideas.

“I’ll give you something to talk about,” he said and turned back to Eric, flipping them off as he leaned in towards Eric.

Eric could hear the group audibly gasp as Adam kissed him, and he felt butterflies in his stomach.

" _It's true!_ " one from the group said under their breath, but then everything around him melted away as he leaned into the kiss.

Eric wasn't sure how much time had passed before Adam broke the kiss by leaning away, turning to look at the group walking away from them quickly. Eric blinked a few times, looking at Adam's face.

"You didn't have to do that," Eric said, and Adam shook his shoulders, looking away from the group and at Eric instead.

"I know." He rolled his shoulders backwards a few times. "I wanted to."

Eric couldn't help the wide smile spreading across his face. He looked up towards the sky, at the setting sun. It was already starting to get dark, despite it feeling like the day had barely started. The way the rays landed on Adam's face was breathtaking really, and he felt lost for words. Adam was looking off into the distance as he was lighting a cigarette, and Eric just watched him. He thought about how this whole thing probably was a dream, this whole thing with Adam, because it was just to good to be true, right?

"What are you staring at me for?" Adam looked at him with a slightly furrowed brow, probably wondering what the fuck Eric was doing.

"Adam, you're really pretty, you know that?" The words were out of Eric's mouth before he has realised, and he could visibly see a red tint spreading across Adam's cheeks. Adam looked down on his shoes, rubbing his palm over his skull in a self conscious gesture.

"Don' think anyone ever called me pretty before," he mumbled, and Eric smiled again.

"Well, you are."

"Thanks, man."

They stood in silence, just existing in the moment. Eric burrowed his face into his scarf again, a slight shiver going through his body. It was definitely getting cold outside now.

"You wanna go back inside?" Adam asked, who had probably noticed Eric's being cold. Eric nodded at Adam and spun around, facing the way back to his house. "Wanna watch something on Netflix when we get back?"

Adam threw the cigarette butt on the ground next to his previous one and nodded. "Sound good."

/

They walked back mostly in silence, both of them wanting to get inside as soon as possible. The sun had almost completely set when they came back inside. They both took off their outside clothes, toeing of their shoes.

"You feeling like popcorn?" Eric asked. Adam swiped his tounge over his teeth whilst thinking for a moment, then nodding. "Popcorn sounds fucking great."

They both headed into the kitched and were greeted by Eric's parents. Both of them had a steaming cup of coffee in front of them on the kitchen table. Eric's dad was reading the newspaper and Eric's mum was busy brushing his youngest sister's hair. His sister was deeply engrossed in a book.

"Hi!" Eric greeted cheerily, and his mum and dad responded back. Eric saw out of the corner of his eye how Adam just kind of hung around the entrance to the kitchen. Eric opened a kitchen cabinet and reached inside, pulling out a cardboard box of popcorn. He pulled out a packet of popcorn and got busy removing the plastic as he heard Adam clearing his throat.

"Mr and Mrs Effiong, I just wanna-" he started, but was interrupted by Eric's mum.

"Daraja, dear."

Adam cleared his throat again. "Right. Daraja-" he hesitated as he realised that he didn't know Eric's dad's name, finally settling on "-Mr Effiong, thank you for letting me stay here for tonight again."

Eric popped the microwave open and put in the packet of unpopped popcorn.

"Of course, dear. Any friend of Eric's is welcome in our home," Daraja answered. Eric's dad hummed in agreement. Eric smiled to himself as he closed the microwave door, rotated the dial for the time and started it. Then, he turned around, leaning back against the countertop he was standing next to. He looked at Adam, who was busy studying the kitchen ceiling, before he looked at his parents. "We'll just be in my room watching Netflix for a while. When are you heading out?"

His mum set down the brush on the kitchen table and patted Eric's younger sister on the shoulder, signalling that she was done. "We'll be leaving soon." She motioned towards some pound notes lying on the counter top next to Eric. "There's some money so you can get pizza, if you want to. Or you can take something out of the freezer."

Eric reached out and took the money, putting the notes in his pocket. "Hey, who am I to say no to free pizza?"

The microwave plinged behing him and he turned around to take out the now very swollen bag. He motioned at Adam. "Could you help me with a bowl? In the top cabinet there." Adam walked over and took out a plastic bowl, holding it out towards Eric. Eric carefully opened the very warm paper bag and dumped the popcorn in it.

"Alright mum, dad, see you later tonight."

 

/

They decided to watch a series called Russian Doll that sounded really good. They settled into Eric's bed, shoulder to shoulder, bowl of popcorn in Eric's lap. Somewhere a bit into the third episode, Eric's thoughts drifted and he was amazed by how good and unforced it felt being around Adam and doing essentially nothing, just being pressed up against eachother. He didn't want it to end, but there was this little voice at the back of his head whispering that the weekend was almost over, and that when monday happened they would have to face the real world again.

"This show is a right mindfuck," Adam said, his voice both impressed and slightly confused. Eric nodded and out away the now empty bowl, turning to face Adam. Adam looked away from the tv screen to meet Eric's eyes. "Wha, you don't like it?"

Eric shook his head. "No, it's good, it's just..." He chewed on his bottom lip for a moment before continuing. "Just having a hard time to focus, I guess."

"Oh." Adam reached to pause the series and settled back against the heardboard again. He was silent, as if he was looking for words. "You... wanna talk about it?" he offered, and Eric couldn't help the little smile that spread across his lips.

"Nah, it's fine." He leaned in towards Adam and pressed their lips together. The kiss turned out chaste but quickly turned into something more, and before long the cover had been tossed to the side and Eric was straddling Adam. At one point, they broke the kiss so Adam could pull Eric's shirt over his head. It was discarded to the side and Eric shivered as Adam's large hands roamed over his back. Eric kissed a line from Adam's mouth over his jaw, towards his ear. He was breathless, and Adam too, and Eric felt how hard Adam's erection was, pushing into his thigh through the layer of clothing. The air in the room was heavy, thick, and Eric felt like he couldn't breathe, but in a good way.

Adam ducked down and started pressing hot kisses to Eric’s throat, mouthing at his pulse.

“You got condoms?” he mumbled in between kisses, and Eric brain didn’t compute, a hazy fog having settled over him. He managed a super eloquent ‘huh?’, which made Adam stop his kissing and pull back slightly.

“Con-doms.” he said, over-enounciating the word. “You ‘ave any?”

Eric’s brain finally caught up and he understood what Adam was talking about.

“Yes, wait, hang on-”

He pulled away and turned around, reaching for his bedside table. He pulled out the drawer and reached furthest in, to the back part of the drawer that you couldn’t see even if you pulled the drawer out as far as you could. He easily found the small bottle he was looking for, and next to it a wrapped condom. He might not have ever had a use for his little stash of condoms before, but he still kept them close for easy access. Just, you know, _in case_. Eric pulled out the items and turned back to Adam, who had leaned his head back against the headboard and was looking at Eric with heavily lidded eyes. A shiver went through Eric’s body when he though about the promise in Adam's eyes, and the condom he held in his hand. Adam’s gaze fell downwards to Eric’s hands and he gave little snorting sound.

“Whatcha got lube for?” he said with lifted eyebrows, reaching out to take he half empty bottle from Eric’s hand. Eric felt his face heating up. He cleared his throat.

“Eh... wanking?” he offered, and Adam’s face turned into a slightly dumbfounded look. He looked at the bottle in his hand for a little while until realisation seemed to hit him and his mouth turned into a little ‘o’ of understanding. Adam seemed to be thinking, and Eric was just about to ask him what about when Adam reached out and pulled down Eric on top of him. Eric was preoccupied with thinking about how they needed to get out of their clothes. But like, did you just take a break in the middle to take your clothes off? That didn't sound very sexy, to be honest.

Eric was still deep in his train of thought when he felt Adam's free hand at the hem of his pants, pulling at them. "Off," Adam mumbled, and Eric decided that the best way to get them off was to roll off Adam and pull them off. Adam did the same next to him, and suddenly they were both naked. Adam pulled Eric back on top of him, and Eric followed, Adam’s erecting digging into his hip and his own trapped between their bodies. ric was struck by sudden and instant nervousness, lying still. He didn’t know where to go from here, to be completely honest. He’d watched a _ton_ of porn, obviously, but that was always scripted. This was real life, and he didn’t know what to do. He’d never done this before! Like, did he just ask _‘hey you wanna fuck me in the ass or should I fuck you?’_ cause that really sounded like a _great_ way to kill both his and Adam’s boners.

Then, he felt Adam take his right hand and press the small bottle of lube into his palm. Eric looked up at Adam’s face, and the blush on his cheeks was almost crimson.

“Use it?” Adam said, his voice half a question, half a statement, and Eric’s brain ground to a halt. _Did he mean..?_

Then, Adam spread his legs slightly, allowing for Eric to settle between them, and Eric drew in a sharp breath. Oh. _Oh_. Eric struggled to get his body to cooperate, struggling to make his muscles move, and Adam gave a small grunt. “Before I change my mind.”

Eric managed to get himself into action then, moving back slightly and grabbing the bottle with his left hand. He popped the lid and squeezed some of the cool liquid onto his finger before placing the bottle next to them on the bed. It was fine, he was only trembling _slightly_. He put his left hand next to Adam’s hip on the mattress, and moved his right hand down and behind. He obviously couldn’t see what he was doing, _oh my god, his heart was beating so fast_ , because he didn’t really know what he was doing either.  
His fingers bumped against Adam’s taint, and Adam’s breath stuttered.

“That’s cold,” Adam said, and Eric almost mumbled a ‘sorry’, but he was too distracted. He continued down and then, his fingers brushed against Adam’s entrance and he immediately felt Adam tense up under him. He looked up at Adam.

“You okay?” he said, probably sounding just as nervous as he was, and Adam swallowed before nodding.

“Yeah, ‘m okay.”

Eric had never done this to someone else before, so he tried his best mimicking what he would do to himself. He placed two against the ring of muscle and held them there, feeling the way the muscle tensed up as he touched it. He tried pushing just slightly against it, but it had no give at all.

“You gotta relax,” he said to Adam, who was looking up into the ceiling. Adam threw a quick glance down at Eric’s face before he seemed to force himself to relax, because the muscle suddenly relaxed against the tips of his fingers, allowing them to slip inside. He looked up at Adam's face to make sure he hadn't hurt him. Adam's eyes were shut and he was breathing calmly through his mouth. Eric started to move his fingers, trying to mimic what he did to himself sometimes, _but it really wasn't the same doing it to someone else, fucking hell._ In one way, Eric felt like he was having an outer body experience, using his fingers to stretch Adam for what they were about to do, but then Adam was there and warm and firm and he was grounded in his body again.

"How long are you doing that for?" Adam growled, sounding impatient, but his erection was leaking against his stomach. Eric stilled his movements and looked at Adam, who was looking back at him.

"Until it won't hurt," Eric explained, and Adam shook his head slightly.

"It doesn't hurt. And I'm not a fucking princess."

Eric carefully pulled his fingers out and reached for the condom. With just slightly trembling hands he tore the packaging open and took out the condom, reaching down to roll it onto his cock. He shuffled closed to Adam, taking ahold of the base of his cock and guiding it towards Adam's entrance.

Just a slight push forward of his hips and suddenly, he was inside of Adam. He lost his breath, being wrapped in tight heat, the feeling nothing like he had experienced before.

“Fuck...” Adam groaned beneath him, and Eric opened his eyes, not having realised that he had closed them. Adam’s skin was flushed red and his eyes dark and wide, just a slight furrowing of his eyebrows. Eric suddenly had to swallow, his mouth and throat suddenly gone dry as a desert.

“You okay?” he croaked, and suddenly the whole situation hit him, making him feel heady with the fact that he was currently inside Adam. _He was having sex. With Adam._

“ ‘m fine,” Adam breathed, shifting slightly under Eric, causing his hips to slide slight forward. Heat surged through Eric when he slipped further into Adam, and Adam gave a small groan. Eric screwed his eyes shut and rode through the heat, overwhelmed by the sensations. Hands were at the sides of his neck then, pulling him down, and suddenly his face was just above Adam’s, holding his gaze.

“Move,” he said under his breath, and Eric moved his hips forwards, slowly pushing inside. He didn’t have words to describe what he was feeling - it was so much, and it felt fucking amazing. He surged forwards and buried his face in the side of Adam’s neck, a hot wave rolling over him and forcing him to come right then and there. His hands found Adam’s hips and he held on, doing his best to calm himself down.

“ _Adam_ , I, you, _fuck_ ,” he groaned into Adam’s neck, neither brain nor mouth able to form a proper sentence.

/

He was pretty sure his skin was on fire. That’s what if felt like at least. _On fire, but like, in a really good way_. His mind had gone completely blank and all he could focus on was Eric, _holy fuck_ , Eric was _inside of him_ and he had never felt anything like this.

“ _Adam_ , I, you, _fuck-_ ”

Adam felt like he was going to explode when Eric said his name like that and fuck, he was _so_ hard, he’d never been this hard in his life before. Eric’s breath was so hot against his skin and when Eric moved his hips backwards just slightly and pushed back into him, he felt like his breath was punched out of him. He managed to get his hand in between their bodies and he wrapped his hand around his cock, squeezing it tightly. He registered that Eric’s tongue was lapping at his pulse and fuck, he was going to cum real fucking soon. Eric pulled out slightly and pushed into him again and Adam’s free hand flew up to grasp and the back of Eric’s head, managing a broken “ _Eric-!_ ” before the world whited out and he started pulsating in his own hand, spilling himself in between them.

When he came back, Eric was breathing harshly against his neck, and he felt fingers digging into his hips a bit too tightly.

/

Just like that first time, Eric didn’t stand a chance when Adam moaned his name. His orgasm hit him like a goddamn freight train and he shouted his release into Adam’s skin.


	13. Pizza time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can’t believe there’s already been another month in between updates. Thank you so much for being so patient with me. <3 Uni really has been taking up so much of my time, but the course I am on now seems to be a little lighter on the writing requirements, so I am hoping to update more frequently. Thank you for reading and commenting, you make my day.

Fifteen minutes later, when they both had snuck into the bathroom across the hall and cleaned themselves off a bit, they were back in Eric’s bed. They were sitting next to each other, shoulder to shoulder, both of them only in their boxers.

This one thought was gnawing in Eric’s head, and it just wouldn’t go away. He had to say it! He felt like he was going to implode if he didn’t say anything, like there was this pressure over his chest and shoulders. _Come_ _on_ _Eric_ _say_ it _say_ _it_ _say_ _it_

“I need to tell you something!” he blurted out, and Adam half turned to give him a somewhat sceptical look as a reaction to his too loud voice.

“Okay?”

Eric shuffled around in bed so he was facing Adam, crossing his legs. He wasn’t sure what to do with his hands, so he decided to just put them in his lap. Adam must have sensed his nervousness, because he lifted his head from where it was resting against the headboard and then sat up straight, mirroring Eric’s pose by also crossing his legs. He looked at Eric silently.

“That was my first time having sex.” The words rushed out of him and he slammed his mouth shut when he was finished, watching Adam with wide eyes. Adam looked slightly taken aback by the sudden confession. He seemed to mull over his response for a moment before the spoke.

“Mine as well, so.” He pulled his shoulders up in a quick, little nonchalant shrug. Eric’s eyebrows rose towards his hairline, and Adam seemed to squirm just a slight bit under his sceptical look.

“With a guy. Only really snogged guys before. No one from school though.”

Eric’s eyebrows rose even higher. Adam looked indifferently at him, as if both signalling that he didn’t think it was a big deal and also waiting for Eric to speak actual words instead of staring at him. Eventually, Eric managed an awkward “I didn’t know.”

“No shit. How would you?” Adam stretched his arms over his head before relaxing back down into the bed. “I didn’t know about you either, did I? I thought you would’ve fucked Anwar at some point.”

“Just because we’re both gay doesn’t mean we automatically fuck, Adam!” he said, voice indignant.

“Or New Kid.” Adam continued matter-of-factly, as if his train of though had caused him not to hear Eric’s response at all. It took a moment for Eric to work out who Adam meant, and when he did, he sputtered.

“ _Otis_?! What?! No! _Never_!”

Adam shrugged his shoulders in that little way again gave a quick nod.

“Alright.”  

“What makes you think that?!” Eric continued, still balking at the idea.

“You hang out all the time? Barely ever see one of you without the other. New Kid never had a girlfriend, and everyone knows you’re gay.” Adam used his thumbnail to scratch one of his eyebrows as he spoke. “Not that much of a fucking stretch. The only one I hung out that much was Aimee. And we definitely fucked.”

Eric was about to protest, but closed his mouth again. “Okay. Fair.” He shook his head. “But no, I never did anything with Otis!” 

“I S’pose it don’t matter anyways. If they wanna fuck me and I wanna fuck them then that’s all that’s important innit. Or at least that’s all that should fucking matter.” Adam turned his head to the side and looked out of the the bedroom window when he finished speaking.

Eric felt something akin to pride when he heard Adam speak, and his previous shock was completely gone.

“That’s surprisingly progressive, coming from you.” 

Adam shrugged his shoulders. 

“I guess.” He moved his gaze to meet Eric’s eyes for a second before he looked back out the windows. “Look, I know I’ve said some real stupid shit over the years. I’m just... I’m not as stupid as people think.”

They sat in silence for a while, neither coming up with the right thing to say. Eventually, Eric spoke. 

“Hey, you wanna order those pizzas?” 

Adam nodded at that. “Yeah man, I’m fucking starving.”

/

They ordered a pizza, Eric getting a calzone and Adam a hawaii. This, of course, started a discussion about pineapple on pizza that lasted until the pizza was delivered to the front door. They sat sitting on the floor of Eric’s _room_ , _because_ _Eric_ _was_ _not_ _allowing_ _any_ _kind_ _of_ _eating in_   _his_ _bed_ , _because_ _he_ _was_ _NOT_ _ending_ _up_ _with_ _all_ _those_ _crumbs_ _in_ _his_ _sheets_! 

Eric was looking at Adam with a disgusted face as he shoved pineapple and ham pizza into his mouth. 

“Wha?” Adam said, mouth full of pizza. 

“It’s rank!” He motioned towards Adam. Adam swallowed his mouthful before picking up another slice of pizza, holding it up at eye level.

“It’s two nice things together, right? Only makes it better!”

Eric shook his head fervently. “No! That’s a bad argument! I mean having sex is nice, and having a shit can be nice, but that doesn’t mean they’re nice together!” 

Adam, who was in the process of stuffing the piece of pizza into his mouth, pulled a disgusted face and halted his movements. He looked at Eric.

“Now _that’s_ rank.” 

He lowered the hand holding the slice as he put his elbow on his knee and rested his chin in his free hand. He sat silent for a little while, looking completive, and Eric could swear he could see the tips of Adam’s ears going red.

“So...” he finally said. “The sex was nice?”

Eric felt his face instantly heat up and he quickly shoved some pizza into his mouth to stop himself from saying something super sappy, or super embarrassing. Or both. Adam kept looking at him, and Eric eventually had to swallow and actually answer. 

“Yeah,” he answered, truthfully. “It was very nice.”

He wasn’t sure how to describe the feeling he saw in Adam’s face, but he would _almost_ describe it as pride. They fell into a comfortable silence as they finished their pizzas. When they were done, they both headed downstairs into the kitchen to throw out the pizza boxes and clean the cutlery. Eric took it upon himself to wash them off in the sink since it only was two pairs of knives and forks. Adam settled next to him and watched him work, leaning his hip against the bench. Eric’s parents and siblings had left the house since the pizza had arrived, and the house was currently quiet apart from the sounds of the water in the sink.

“So, it’s Sunday tomorrow.”

“Mmm.” 

Eric really didn’t want to have this conversation, but he knew they had to. The weekend was almost over, and weekend over meant Monday and Monday meant back to school. Back to a school that Adam wasn’t currently attending. Eric had to take a deep breath before he looked to Adam. Adam looked tense, his mouth a thin line as he looked off to the side, as if he didn’t want to look Eric in the eye. Eric rinsed off the now clean cutlery with cold water before he reached for the tea towel and dried them.

“Have you thought about what you’re going to do?” he asked quietly as he put the cutlery drawer and put it inside. He heard Adam sigh deeply and when Eric looked at him, Adam was scrubbing his hands over his face.

“I don’t fucking know what to do...” he groaned, his voice muffled behind his hands.

Eric was looking for the right words to say, to make the situation better, but he really could come up with anything to say. 

“I just wish I could stay here,” Adam said, and so many feelings washed over Eric at that. His heart swelled, but his stomach dropped with the impossibility of it. 

“Oh, Adam, I don’t think-“

Adam interrupted his with a wave of his hand before he crossed his arms over his chest. 

“I know Eric. Can’t happen.” Adam turned towards him. “I just... I didn’t think this far ahead.”

Eric chewed on his bottom lip. He had no idea what to do. He had his parents to call if he was in trouble, or Jean, or Otis... His eyes widened slightly as he had an idea.

“We could call Otis!” 

Adam gave him a sceptical look. “New kid?” 

Eric nodded. ”Yeah! He’s smart, he can probably come up with something.”

Eric wish he could read minds when Adam said ”Yeah, sure. Let’s do that tomorrow,” because it really didn’t look like he believed in it.

They went back to Eric’s room again and continued watching Russian Doll where they left off. Eventually they both got a bit too tired and decided it was time to go to sleep for the night. Right before Eric dozed off, he could swear he heard Adam whisper a soft “You’re too good to me.”

/

Sometime later, when Eric’s breathing had evened out and Adam was sure he was asleep, Adam sat up in the bed. He reached for his phone, which was lying charging on the bedside table. It was a bit past 1 am. He locked the phone again and looked down at Eric’s sleeping face, his stomach twisting. Adam really didn’t want to do what he was about to, but he he knew he had to. Moving as slowly and carefully as he could so as not to wake Eric up, he got out of bed and started to gather his things, shoving them back into his bag. He quickly slipped back into the clothes he was wearing before he had gotten into bed. Then, he pulled out the charger from the wall socket, put the charger in his bag and his phone in his pocket. When he had everything gathered he stopped next to the bed and looked down and Eric one more time. He looked so peaceful in his sleep. Adam’s stomach twisted again and he angrily rubbed his hand over his eyes. 

“Sorry,” he whispered before he turned around and snuck out of Eric’s room and down the stairs. As quietly he could he put on his shoes and went out of the front door, carefully closing it behind him. He stood still listening for a moment, but everything was silent. He let his shoulders drop down and he reached for a cigarette. He lit it as he looked up towards Eric’s window. 

“See ya sometime,” he said quietly before he turned and started walking down the driveway. He didn’t really have any destination in mind as he walked. It was chilly outside now, winter knocking on the door, but he was sure he’d be fine. He had slept rough many times before, when he had decided that was better than showing up him drunk or high. Still, he shivered slightly. He smoked as he walked, following the road past where they had been earlier in the day. He walked towards the bus stop, where a small single light lit up the inside. He placed his bag on the bench and peered at the timetables. The last bus had already left, and there were still a few hours until the first Sunday bus went past. He couldn’t call for a taxi either, because he didn’t have any money. Sighing, he sat down on the bench next to his bag, throwing the butt of his cigarette on the ground. He might as well try to get some sleep while he was waiting. Pushing his bag to one end of the bench he lied down and used it as a pillow, pulling up his hood and tucking his hands into his armpits. The cold kept him awake for a while, but soon he fell into a restless sleep. 

A few hours later, Adam woke with a start because of a loud honk. His eyes shot open and he shut up to sitting position. He blinked rapidly and tried orient where the sound was coming from. 

“Hey kid, you getting on?”

He blinked a few more times before he realised that it was the horn of a bus that had woken him up, and the person shouting at him was the bus driver.  He cleared his throat and shook his shoulders, trying to get some stiffness out.

“Yeah, sorry.”

He stood and grabbed his bag, his whole body protesting now suddenly having to move after having lied still in the cold. He got on the bus and the bus driver eyed him up and down. 

“You got a ticket?”

Adam patted both his jeans pockets. “I dropped my wallet, and I really have to get into town...” It was technically a lie, but he really didn’t have any money. The bus driver gave him a sceptical look and hummed. Then, he reached for a button on his dashboard and the doors shut behind Adam. The bus driver motioned into the bus with his head.

“I know someone who hasn’t got a place to go when I see one. Just go and find a seat in the back and sleep for a few hours whilst I drive around town, okay? Sleeping out in this cold isn’t good for you.” 

Adam gave him a thankful look and continued into the bus, dropping himself and his bag down in the very back. The bus was a lot warmer than outside, and he really needed some sleep. He leaned his head against the window and shortly thereafter, he had drifted off to sleep.

/

Eric woke up to knocks at his bedroom door. 

“Eric, breakfast is done soon!” 

Eric stretched his arms over his head and blinked himself awake. Then, in regular fashion, he reached for his phone and checked the time. 10 am. He locked the phone and relaxed back into the bed, closing his eyes. Then a moment later, he opened his eyes again, bolting straight upwards.

_Where’s_ _Adam_?!

He looked around the room and instantly noticed Adam’s clothes and bag were gone. He suddenly felt like it was hard to breathe. He threw on a t-shirt and jumped into a pair of trousers before he bolted downstairs into the kitchen. His dad looked up at him, surprised at seeing him out of the bed so quickly. He opened hia mouth to speak but Eric was quicker.

“Have you seen Adam today?”

He closed her mouth before opening it again. 

“No, I haven’t. Sorry, dear.”

“Shit!” 

He turned on his heel and sprinted back up the stairs, heart in his throat. He heard his dad call after him asking him if everything was okay, but he ignored him. He lunged for his phone and pressed into his contacts, calling Adam. He held it up to his ear, listening to the signals. 

“Come on, pick up pick up pick up!”

It clicked to voicemail and Eric’s heart sunk. He quickly typed out a message and sent it.

_Where_ _are_ _you??_

His breath hitched as the phone showed that Adam has read the message. He sunk down onto his bed and waited as the little dots appeared, showing that Adam was typing.

_“Sorry. I cant drag u into this_ ”

Eric felt like a terrible weight had placed itself on his shoulders and was pushing him down. He tried calling Adam again, hands shaking. It went to voicemail again, and he felt tears threatening to spill.

_Adam, please pick up the phone._

_Adam!_

The messages were getting delivered, but Adam wasn’t reading them.  

Fingers moving on autopilot, he went into his contacts again. He lifted the phone to his ear. After a few signals, the call was answered and Otis’ groggy voice was heard.

“Eric. Wassup?”

“Can you come over?” he managed to croak. He heard rustling and Otis spoke again, his voice now on edge.

“What’s happened?” 

Eric drew in a shaky breath. “It’s Adam. He’s gone and I don’t know where.” 

“Okay, okay, I’m coming as fast as I can.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! <3
> 
> Also, I am not here for closeted gay bully Adam. I am here for bi/pan Adam and I will fite you. 
> 
> Anywho, thanks for reading, you are the best!


	14. Sleeping rough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, I can’t believe it’s been THREE MONTHS since I updated!! I promise this fic isn’t dead! I am constantly thinking about it, but I’ve been constantly busy with uni and then the summer job I started a few weeks ago. Here, have a tiny update just so you know I’m still here! <3

Adam had been staring at the door to the public restroom for 15 minutes now, waiting for the opportune moment to slip inside. No one had excited in quite some time. He looked at the person sitting in a small booth, behind glass. The guy hired to charge people 1 pound to use the restroom was looking decidedly bored, clearly scrolling his phone despite trying to be slick with trying to half hide it under the desk he was sitting at.

Adam turned his attention back to the door leading into the restrooms. A group of tourists had entered a while ago, and they would probably be heading back out soon. Adam stretched a bit, gripping the handles of his bag tighter. He would probably only have one shot to sneak in when the tourists were walking out, and he really didn’t want the security guards called on him.

Suddenly, the door to the restrooms opened and Adam was on his feet. The three tourists were heading out, struggling with their large bags. Adam hurried over there and held the door open for them, giving them his most pleasant fake smile. When they had just about passed him he slipped inside the bathroom, ducking down so as to not get spotted. He entered an empty,  somewhat clean public bathroom, with a long row of stalls to the right, a long row of sinks and mirrors on the left and a long, sort of bench in the middle. Adam stood still for a few panicky seconds, waiting for the door behind him to burst open to reveal the person from the booth. When that didn’t happen, he drew in a deep breath and let himself relax. He walked up to the sinks and placed his bag on the countertop, placing his hands under the tap. Water soon started to pour out and he washed his hands gingerly. The water in the sink turned almost black, and he grimaced at his hands. He really wanted a shower, but this was the next best thing. He tried to think back to when he’d last had one as he took of his jacket and started to wash his arms off as well as he could. The last time was like a week ago, at Eric’s place... 

His chest ached as he thought of Eric, but he quickly pushed down the feeling. It was better this way.

Leaning forward he cupped his hands and collected water in them before bringing it to his face. A feeling of calm spread through him as he washed it. He cupped his hands again, this time leaning forward even more so he could washed top of his head. He moved his fingers over his scalp, feeling the growing hair.

Suddenly, the sound of a toilet flushing and stall door opening, followed by the sound of footsteps. Adam straightened and looked at the person through the mirror. He could feel water droplets running down his neck, stopping where they hit his shirt. 

The person, who was now washing his hands in the sink a few sinks to the left of Adam, was a man in his late 30’s, if Adam would’ve guessed. He was wearing a nice, dark blue suit and his dark hair was slicked back. Their eyes met in the mirror and Adam could see the flicker of something in his eyes before Adam looked away. He turned to take some paper towels from the dispenser and started to pay himself down, starting with his arms. He could feel the other man’s gaze on him though, and he turned towards the man with a blank expression on his face. 

“What the fuck so you want?”

The man looked at him with concern in his eyes, a small frown on his face.

“You sleeping rough?”

Adam wasn’t prepared for that, and he felt shame wash over him. _Was it that easy to spot?_

He turned away and shoved the paper towels into the overflowing waste bin, then reaching for more. 

“The fuck is it to you?”

He stared at himself in the mirror as he dried off his neck and face. From the corner of his eyes he could see how the man was still standing there. It was silent for a little while, and Adam made a point out of pretending he was completely alone in the room. Eventually however, the man broke the silence. 

“I used to clean myself up like that as well when I didn’t anywhere to go home to.”

Adam froze for a second and looked at the man through the mirror, to see if the man was joking. If he was, he had one hell of a poker face. Adam turned towards the man again and looked him up and down with a sceptical look on his face.  

“You’ve been homeless?”

“We’ve all been young.” The man crossed his arms overs his chest and pressed his mouth into a thin line. “How long since you had a proper meal?”

“A few days ago.” Adam realised that his last dinner had been at Eric’s place as well. His stomach hurt at the thought of food. The man squinted at Adam, as if he was thinking something over, before he a few moments later motioned towards the door leading out of the bathroom.

“Let me buy you a meal.” He uncrossed his arms and reached out a hand towards Adam. “I’m Stephen, by the way.”

Adam quickly threw the paper towels he was still holding onto the trash and reached out to shake the man’s hand.

“Adam.”

Stephen smiled, a smile that made the corner of his eyes crinkle. “Nice to meet you, Adam. Now let’s go get something to eat.”

Stephen turn around and started heading out of the bathroom, and Adam hurriedly grabbed his bag and followed.

 


End file.
